Booking flight only, admin fees and change of dates etc

UnsureAboutthis

Hello

I've been looking on another holiday where we will again be booking flights and hotel separately.

Is there any advantage of booking a flight and hotel together, IE, you get better T&C's if you need to change the date/time of flight etc as opposed to flight only

We are flying out this week, and we talked about changing to an earlier flight as we decided we could book a hotel the night before near the hotel. Before booking the hotel I checked online the T&C's and was surprised to note the admin fee for our carrier 14 days before the flight date and the change was 100% admin fee ie the amount you paid for your flight/upgrades etc.

Are the above rates the same for all other airlines based/flying out of the UK, and is it worth considering booking a travel holiday pack ie hotel and flight to get better T&C's?

I'm asking for your own experience/knowledge re flights on and or flight and hotel and who has the best T&C when it comes to slightly changing travel dates/times etc.
(Yes, the T&C's are set out but often vast small print and for someone that does not regularly book holidays abroad it can be daunting and you only learn about the small print if you need to change/tweak your flight/hotel -  yes, I agree with admin fees as it costs money to change but 100% 14 days before a flight is in my view very steep, hence, are there any airlines etc that have better T&C's)

Also if you could add seat pitch, generally who has the best for short-haul flights ie less than 5 hours. (I know this can vary by the type of plane you fly but generally asking if you can share your experiences.)

Browntoa

Even with a package the threshold for free cancellation ( normally a voucher not cash ) is around 60 days before 

bagand96

Most base level air fares will have very restricted flexibility and be non-refundable whichever airline you book with.  Obviously there's a lot of airlines out there all with different T&Cs, many do offer fares with increased flexibility and even fully refundable, but they will be far more expensive than the basic fare.

If you book Flight & Hotel together then you have a package and will be covered by the Package and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations as well as have ATOL protection.  This generally gives you more protection and rights than DIYing (for example if the airline cancel the flight, the package provider would have to find alternative flights or owe you a refund for everything).  It doesn't necessarily bring increased flexibility though - again that's down to company T&Cs.

Choosing something with a Tour Operator who manages the whole package (TUI, Jet2Holidays, BA Holidays, Virgin etc) may offer more flexibility as they generally control the flights and the hotels - but they will still have change fees.  If you book a dynamic package where the provider just pairs flights with a hotel (Expedia, OnTheBeach, TravelRepublic, Lastminute etc) then the agent would still be bound by the same airline conditions if you wanted to change, as well as adding their own fees.

Caz3121

I am assuming this is TUI. Not the same for all airlines, with many, if your ticket type allows, you will pay a change fee plus fare difference for changes.
BA non-hand baggage only shorthaul fares allow same day changes for free on day of travel on same route

DullGreyGuy

UnsureAboutthis said:

I've been looking on another holiday where we will again be booking flights and hotel separately.

Is there any advantage of booking a flight and hotel together, IE, you get better T&C's if you need to change the date/time of flight etc as opposed to flight only

We are flying out this week, and we talked about changing to an earlier flight as we decided we could book a hotel the night before near the hotel. Before booking the hotel I checked online the T&C's and was surprised to note the admin fee for our carrier 14 days before the flight date and the change was 100% admin fee ie the amount you paid for your flight/upgrades etc.

Are the above rates the same for all other airlines based/flying out of the UK, and is it worth considering booking a travel holiday pack ie hotel and flight to get better T&C's?

I'm asking for your own experience/knowledge re flights on and or flight and hotel and who has the best T&C when it comes to slightly changing travel dates/times etc.
(Yes, the T&C's are set out but often vast small print and for someone that does not regularly book holidays abroad it can be daunting and you only learn about the small print if you need to change/tweak your flight/hotel -  yes, I agree with admin fees as it costs money to change but 100% 14 days before a flight is in my view very steep, hence, are there any airlines etc that have better T&C's)

Also if you could add seat pitch, generally who has the best for short-haul flights ie less than 5 hours. (I know this can vary by the type of plane you fly but generally asking if you can share your experiences.)

A package will often have worse T&Cs for making changes because you fancy it, what a package does do is create a right to a refund for the hotel if the airline cancels the flight etc whereas as a DIY you are down to the terms of each booking. 

If you are booking directly with the airline there are normally different tiers of tickets with the higher tiers charging more but giving you more flexibility. For example with a booking for the wife earlier with TAP they wanted £150 to go from their basic no hold luggage, seat selection at check in and no changes/cancellation to go to their middle tier economy which gives you 1 hold luggage, immediate selection of a basic economy seat and fee free changes but no cancellation. Alternatively there was a higher fee if you wanted two hold plus full change and cancellation. You can buy the luggage without the other items but cannot get the flexibility without the luggage. 


The problem is flexibility is fairly expensive, and very expensive if you want full flexibility hence most go with a basic fixed ticket for a cheaper price but then complain when they want to change it.