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How
to get your seat confirmed for an airline ticket.
You
made your booking with your travel agent and they sent
you your itinerary but you see there are some portions
of your flight that you have waitlisted on. What can
you do? This is very frustrating if you are trying to
finalize your travel plans; it's also the difficult
part of the job being a travel agent in Taiwan.
Make
your reservation well in advance.
This
seems like a no brainer but it's amazing how many people
wait until a week or so before Chinese New Year to book
their flight and are surprised that they can't get on
a flight any where. Making your reservation four to
three months ahead of Chinese New Year not only ensures
that you get the dates you want for your flight but
usually ensures you of a better fare than the people
who waited until the last minute. Not all airlines publish
their prices this far in advance but your travel agent
should know the traditionally cheaper fares and book
you on those flights.
Join
an airline frequent flier program
All
airlines offer frequent flier programs that are easy
and free to join. These programs enable you to collect
travel miles that can be redeemed for free flights and
seat upgrades. If you are waitlisted on a flight and
are a member of that particular airline's frequent flier
program you should have a better chance of getting your
seat confirmed. Make sure you have your travel agent
input your membership number at the time you make your
reservation.
Be
flexible with your dates on the original booking
Being
able to depart a few days later or earlier as well as
being flexible on your return date can make a big difference
in getting a seat confirmed. Departing and returning
during the week is always an easier seat to get and
in some cases it can be cheaper.
Stick
with your original reservation
If
you have been waitlisted on a flight you are at the
bottom of a list and will continue to move up the list
as other people change or cancel their bookings. If
you change the date of your original reservation you
will move back down to the bottom of the list, so stick
with your original date if you can.
Reserving
the same flight with another travel agent won't increase
your chance of getting on a flight. In fact it will
decrease your chances; the airline can see that you
are double booked and won't move you up in the list
until you have cancelled one of your reservations. As
well in most cases once an airline knows you are double
booked they will cancel both of your reservations if
you don't cancel one of them; again stick with your
original reservation.
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