i'm trying to book a flight on air iberia online but the additional booking fee and taxes are an additional 43.8 euros...more expensive than my actual ticket! is it cheaper to buy online or should i call or should i just wait to buy them on the spot?? help please!
2006-06-25 13:45:02 · 7 answers · asked by Stacy L 1 in Travel ➔ Air Travel
Its always cheaper to buy online. The fare you see advertised is called the base fare or published fare, that is before taxes and security fee's are included. If you are looking at an International fare the fee's are much higher, several hundred US dollars even. There are airport taxes, landing fee's, sales tax, security fee's, customs or entry charges for international fares and fuel surcharges. Airlines are trying to get you to book online to help keep the lines down at the airport so that the ticket counter is just for checking in passengers. Most airlines have imposed a ticketing fee for going to the ticket counter of calling the Reservations line. While it can be a quick and simple process to book a reservation and accept payment, in the time it takes to do that, in most cases, we could check in 5 people. If you are booking an international flight, some airports are not capable of handling an international booking and they have to call reservations anyway and it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to literally an hour to get it taken care of.
Most travel websites charge additional booking fee's. To avoid these fee's stick with the airlines website. Do some shopping around before purchasing, but above all READ THE FARE RULES to know what you are agreeing to. The discount sites will lock you into a ticket that is unchangeable for any reason.
Good luck and I hope this helps answer your question and shed some light onto what you are looking at when you see the bottom line.
2006-06-25 14:16:20 · answer #1 · answered by southrntrnzplnt 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Many airlines offer a slightly lower fare for online booking, but it may not be universal. Call the airline and ask them straight up, "do you offer a lower fare if I book online?" they will answer you. If its lower go to the airline site and not to a place like Expedia or Travelocity. Both of them I know will add a $10 booking fee.
Some of what you see as additional charges may be the new security fees and fuel add-ons that airlines are now charging. So look at the breakdown of the extras on the fare.
2006-06-25 14:05:09 · answer #2 · answered by TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is always cheaper to buy your airfare tickets online. I would recommend you try booking it thru the airlines own website or try travelocity.com. On most fares, you will save between 15-20% over buying your ticket over the phone.
good luck and enjoy your trip
hope this helps
2006-06-25 13:53:19 · answer #3 · answered by flguy36 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy it now. It is usually cheaper to buy airfare online, no matter what the price.
Try looking around at different sites. I recommend kayak.com, which searches several travel search engines at ONCE. That is pretty handy when it comes to airfare.
2006-06-25 14:47:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your best bet is to search the web. Many are much cheaper if you are flexible with your schedule and some are just cheaper if they are having 'specials'.
Check it out before you buy on the spot.
2006-06-25 13:49:13 · answer #5 · answered by gitchergun 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is but check out the different sites to make sure you get the best price.
2006-06-25 13:50:41 · answer #6 · answered by mrs d 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Travel agents are the cheapest...Even for last minute deals.
2006-06-25 14:30:27 · answer #7 · answered by Adam 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋