It is now mid- January and I have started to look at flights. Now, the last time I flew must have been around fifteen years ago, and I seem to remember the process of booking a flight for a technophobe like me was a relatively painless experience. Hmm, not so now. It was all so complicated and to be honest, confusing and a bit of a minefield. All these websites which I had never heard of. Were they genuine ? The prices seemed good … to start with, then once you added the extras such as baggage, window or aisle seat, meals and upgrades to your ticket … The list was endless and I saw my bargain price sky rocket by around £500- £600. Not such a bargain after all.
Then there’s the fake scam sites. I almost got caught out on one today and stitched for £1,500.00. I had put my details through a flight comparison site which I had used before, and chose a specific booking page. After I had watched the prices going up every two minutes, I clicked on the purchase now tab … fortunately for me, the site crashed and I didn’t lose any money. I was beginning to think that I would never be able to travel to Peru. Then I had an idea, I would ring Sam, my friend from Uni, who used to work in the travel industry and ask her advice. Sam did a little digging on the site I was attempting to use and told me it was a fake site. She also told me to check if any money had gone out of my account. It hadn’t thankfully, and asked why didn’t I just book with the airline direct.
I hadn’t thought of doing that and what had taken me weeks to try to do, she had done in minutes and we had booked a return flight to Peru with Air France for £850.00 with checked baggage allowance … almost half the price of the one I attempted to book. I was really thankful for Sam’s help … I would have still been trying to sort a flight out this time next year, and no doubt would have been well and truly stung in the pocket too.
I also purchased my travel insurance. My friend Colin suggested an annual multi-trip policy as they can work out much cheaper. He was right too … I found one for £82.00. Bargain. It pays to shop around … and ask your friends first. That’s another one ticked off the list.
Finally … I was going to be travelling to Peru for three weeks, flying out on the 18th June and arriving back on the 10th July… Am I excited ? You bet I am.
Twenty-one weeks and five days until I fly to Peru … not that I’m counting.