Is It Cheaper To Book Flights At The Airport?

Is Fare Bought at the Airport Cheaper?

The process of selecting flights involves a myriad of decisions such as date and time of the flight, departure and arrival airport, choice of airline, and many others. A common question is whether it is better to purchase flights directly at the airport or pre-book an online flight reservation. This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of booking at the airport to assist you in determining whether this practice is effective at lowering the cost of your airfare.

Last Minute Airfare Sales One of the benefits of booking flights in the airports include getting to book for a flight when there are special offers of the flights which are sold at a cheaper price. Most of the time, airlines will offer a significantly lower price for a certain flight if there are open seats for an upcoming flight and they wish to maximize occupancy. These last min sales can sometimes include very cheap fares by being up to 30- 50% less than usual prices. Thus if one is not rigid when it comes to dates or destinations, flying in a last one minute flight will guarantee one great discounts. However, relying on last-minute fares is unwise because there is a possibility that there will be no discounted airfares on your desired route or in your preferred dates.

No Advance Purchase Requirements One advantage of booking at the airport is the fact that some airfare deals come with advance purchase requirements that limit one’s options. In the case where you go online and search for a flight from a particular airline for a particular date and you find that it is cheaper than other dates, you are likely to find that most of the airlines will expect you to pay for the ticket online and the ticket is likely not refundable. However, if you go to the airport and book a car directly at the counter, then advancement booking has no place here. This is the beauty of it, you can purchase a ticket and take the next available flight and no one will stop you. This gives more chances to shift plans, With this, it is easy to realize that. However, the convenience that is derived from this comes at a very high price since when one books a flight at this instance he or she cannot be able to qualify for early bird discounts most airlines have for customers.

Additional Airport Fees That is why the convenience of flying and being able to book a flight directly at the airport, as one might do last minute has certain advantages but possible additional expenses as well. Just like most service providers, airlines tend to offer higher prices for services that are paid at the airport than on the Internet. It will cost approximately $25 more per ticket for the face-to-face help, which is way more than online self-service booking. Some airlines also still offer passengers the option to check in and receive paper tickets at the airport for a fee, while e-tickets bought online come without this fee. If however, you have to pay for checked luggage at the airport after booking, the cost is typically more than the charges of purchasing baggage allowance at the time of ticket booking. Hence those other airport booking and baggage fees that may crop up can be much, enough to offset any gains of last minute tickets.

No Opportunity to Seek Second Option The disadvantage of direct purchase of the flights is that you are limited to within the airport and hence, you cannot make comparisons of all the options. It’s easy to search and compare the travel booking websites to ensure that one gets the best offers in terms of flights, airlines, and dates. However, when you find yourself at an airline counter within the airport, you are only bound to that particular airline’s offered prices and a few flight choices. It is suggested that sometimes there may be a cheaper flight that has not been listed online, but it is almost impossible to search for available flights while standing there in front of the monitors. Since there is no price comparison and no effective way to narrow down the search results what it means is that with a snap you can overpay and do not have an opportunity to find the flight that offers the best value for the money.

These Additional Airline Change and Cancellation Fee Other factors that you will have to look at when choosing whether to book at the airport or online are the change and cancellation policies. Usually, tickets bought at the airport are more expensive, and the change and cancellation penalties are very severe if you decide to change something in the last minute. Most of the airlines have flexible policies enabling passengers to cancel or change their flights within a given period or for a minimal charge if the booking was made online and days before the date of the flight. However, when buying snacks at the airports, change and cancellation penalties are extra charges that cost up to $200 for every ticket. Even if there are changes with the plans, getting to book online can help you avoid hundreds of dollars in change fees.

Weighing the TradeOffs From analyzing the pros and cons listed above to whether it is cheaper to book flights at the airport, it is clear that there are several factors that can be flexed or incurred in order to gain access to these deals. Here are some final tips on when an airport booking could score you savings versus booking online in advance:Here are some final tips on when an airport booking could score you savings versus booking online in advance:

Airport Bookings Can Save If:Airport Bookings Can Save If:

• You Have Complete Flexible Dates and Destinations: This is because the flexibility afford by any flight option means high chances of securing a last minute flight.

• You Only Have Carry On Baggage: It also keeps the airport prices more reasonable by steering clear of checked bag fees.

• You Get Lucky Finding a Last Minute Deal: Although, the discount price of the unsold tickets provides great value, it is not ensured.

  Booking Online Tends to Be Cheaper If:Booking Online Tends to Be Cheaper If:

• You Need Specific Routes and Travel Times: While it may ultimately be cheaper to get a seat on a certain flight for any given date, getting the booking in advance is definitely cheaper.

• You Plan to Check Bags or Want Seat Assignments: The extra charges complicate and make airport prices not much of a bargain.

• You Want to Price Compare Options: It drastically hampers the ability to look for better deals only to find prices set by only that one airline at the airport.

  The final conclusion on whether the last minute airport bookings provide the best holidays for the cheapest flight is highly determined by ones choice and flexibility. This is actually a great idea if done during specific circumstances or simply if one gets lucky and books just before checking in. However, for the average consumer, planning to travel and do the research and bookings online in an effort to search for the best deals often means having to pay extra when one is picked up at the airport. If you are a traveler, then do cross check all your options while booking a flight to know where you get the best value for your money in terms of price and policies.