Booking three way Flights

Disadvantages of booking trips too early.

INSIDE summary: My father gave me a non-stop plane from United to Mexico six month before my journey. I was informed about a timetable amendment three month after booking and was all of a sudden on a connection. When I spoke to a United agent, I learned that the carrier had cancelled the non-stop service because there was not enough traffic.

Booking a trip well in advance means there is a good risk that the trip will not exist and your booking will be modified. It is the issue that every traveller asks himself: whether to make a booking in anticipation or at the last moment. I am usually a big booking enthusiast well in advance because this has allowed me to get some fairly cheap rates in the past.

It' also how my folks usually schedule flights, which is why my father, when he recently chartered me a plane to Mexico for a November holiday for my whole Mexican household, chartered it six month in advance. While I didn't think there was a disadvantage in being above itineraries, it turns out there is a certain amount of exposure to early booking.

It is possible that you may come across a date shift when booking a trip in the past. On May 4, my father bought the plane through United's website with bonus mileage he had earned. A non-stop plane leaving New Jersey Newark Airport at 8:30 a.m. and arriving at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at 12:50 p.m. On August 6, he was notified of a modification to my timetable by e-mail.

However, this date modification was significant. Rather than a non-stop plane, I was on a connection that departed Newark at 8:05 a.m. and landed in Denver at 10:34 a.m. Then I only had 40 min to make my connection to Mexico, which would depart Denver at 11:15 a.m.

Even more serious is that the connection is the only Denver to Cabo San Lucas connection that night, which means that if I miss it, I can't get to Mexico until the next one. When I visited United's website and found that there were no non-stop flights available from Newark to Cabo San Lucas that night, my father verified his suspicions that United had cancelled the original charter.

Flights available vary according to the markets. I asked myself in frustration what had caused United to just call off the plane. It stated that every now and then, if the carrier does not make a living in a particular store, it will call off that ticket. So in other words, not enough folks booked United's non-stop from Newark to Cabo San Lucas, so they cancelled it.

Said that these kinds of cancellation often depended on the seasons, and that if a plane is cancelled, that doesn't necessarily mean it will be cancelled forever. There is no warranty if you make a reservation in advanced. On the eve of the day I was due to leave, my father rebooked me for a Newark to Chicago plane.

I will then spend the nights with my mum and dad and dad and go with them to Cabo San Lucas the next day. Connecticut didn't bill him for the change - or for the fact that he was booking through an agency to the site, for which there is usually a toll - and the sales rep I talked to also gave me a $200 gift certificate for the trouble.

Whilst I was very pleased with the way United dealt with the problem, I will take this into account in my upcoming itineraries. The United States agent informed me on the telephone that when booking a ticket well in advance, there is no assurance that it will not be cancelled. So, although you can get a great prize if you make a far out booking, you can't end up on the plane you wanted.