Are you looking for a great travel site to book flight tickets for your upcoming holiday? Make use of this checklist to find out what separates great portals from the mediocre ones.
Booking your flight tickets for an upcoming vacation shouldn’t be overwhelming. But, with hundreds of travel booking sites and apps available, how do you pick the right one?
Should you go with the travel portal that offers you the cheapest tickets? Or look for other factors to get the best deals.
Let’s take a quick look at the top key features travel sites must have while you’re making either a domestic or international flight booking.
#1: Simple Search Filters
Yes. The site must make it as easy as possible for you to carry out different searches. It’s a plus if the site stores your previous searches. This way, you can repeat it later.
Flight booking is all about doing various combos of routes, airlines, and stopovers, till you find the best one that fits your budget as well as travel time. A good ticketing app will make it easy to carry out even hundreds of searches without making you feel frustrated.
#2: Predictive Search
This is an extension of the previous point. A good travel app will give you appropriate suggestions while you’re typing. No more typing the complete name of your destination for the umpteenth time.
While this may seem simple, you’ll thank the stars for the predictive search, when you’re keying in your destination for the tenth time.
#3: Shortlists
Haven’t zeroed down on your destination yet? No worries, a great flight booking app will help you save all the locations that catch your fancy in a shortlist. You can peruse this later, or discuss with your family before you lock-in on the destination.
#4: Simple, Idiot proof Calendars
Nothing is as heart-stopping as finally paying thousands of rupees for first-class tickets on premium airlines like Cathay Pacific or Emirates, only to find that you’ve bought a non-refundable ticket for the wrong dates.
Any travel app that is worth its name must have big, bold calendars to view the booking dates. It’s a plus if the app highlights your travel dates in a different colour, so that you can cross-check it before you click on the “Book Now” button.
#5: No Hidden Costs
Nothing dampens your mood like finding a great deal on your preferred route, only to see that the price has nearly doubled before you complete the booking. This happens due to hidden costs. A good travel app will give you the complete pricing with all the surcharges and taxes included right at the beginning.
This way you can avoid sticker shocks right when you’re about to close the deal.
#6: Easy Checkout
A great user experience is incomplete without a clearly defined checkout. Very often, travel sites make the mistake of over-complicating the checkout process.
Look for booking sites with easy-to-use checkout forms that don’t ask you to verify dozens of details.
#7: Your Trips Folder
Customer favourite booking sites often have a place where you can view all your upcoming trips in one place. This includes your flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and other activities. This way you get a clear view of your trip without having to search all over.
Additionally, you can verify your virtual tickets at the counter with the help of this folder.
With so many travel apps and booking sites cropping on the online sphere, you may be tempted to choose the first one that you come across. Instead, use this handy checklist to pick the best one that not only helps you book your flight tickets at the lowest price but also simplifies the entire process.