DUMB QUESTION: How to's of booking air online...

[klwdisney]

Hi all! This may seem dumb... but we've always used a travel agent to book our airfare.

I believe I've settled on a flight... and think I can follow the instructions online ok.

But what happens next? Do they mail tickets? What do I need to know after I give them my credit card info to book the flight?

Thanks!!

 

[tclowe]

Hi, don't be nervous. After you click on the submit or book tickets button, the site should generate a receipt for you or confirmation page for you. Just make a copy of this confirmation page and you are set. You will not get any hard tickets in the mail. This way is called "ticketless" travel. You just need your confirmation number. If you are worried, after booking the air on-line, you can check your reservation on the airline's website or call their 1-800 number to verify that your purchase went through.

If this airline has assigned seating then I would call back the 1-800 and pick my seats as soon as possible (especially if you have small children). You can check the airplane seat configuration at www.seatguru.com

Some airlines lets you do 24 hour prior to travel check-in and you can print your boarding pass from your home printer (Southwest Air).

Good Luck. We almost always book our air on-line because it is cheaper and easier than consulting a travel agent.

 

[shafke]

Check back on the airlines website every so often. Occasionally a flight will be cancelled or departure time changed. Go to the airlines website and enter the itinerary number on you receipt and your flight info should come up. You do not want to find this out at the last minute. If possible, either print out your boarding pass the day before the flight or use curbside checkin to avoid unnecessary lies at the airport. On our last trip there were probably 20-30 people checking in at the counter with tops 4 people to do the check in. We saved at least 30 minutes by being able to bypass this line.

 

[klwdisney]

Ok I believe I've settled on using Jet Blue. Any tips specific to this airline?