Flight booking - things to consider

[HarshadRanganathan]

1. Avoid third party sites for booking
2. Check luggage allowances which suits your needs if you are planning to bring lot of items from India
3. Check date change, cancellation flexibilities during this uncertain times e.g. British Airways provides instant voucher refund if you cancel and can book anytime till next year
4. Avoid airlines which have bad customer experience such as during cancellations e.g. Turkish Airlines took a year to refund amount
5. Check if layover time is sufficient to catch connection flight - you need to account for security screening, terminals etc.
6. Prices vary based on destination airport e.g. you might save big money by choosing different city airport and then travelling to your destination via private cab/ train
7. If you have high preference for comfort, food, in flight entertainment etc then it narrows your choice e.g. Emirates is good here
8. Check respective transit country rules for any visas, etc. In most cases we don't need anything if we stick to these basics - same pnr, same airport connection flight, same day connection, irp card, no self transfer etc
9. Be prepared for flight disruptions in your planning e.g. delays, cancellations, missing connection flight where they will provide hotel accommodation and ask to stay for next available flight so have some essentials in hand luggage
10. Set meal preferences prior/part of check in process