Crying babies. Turbulence. Your seatmate’s bare feet.

We all know flying can be stressful. What’s even more stressful? Booking your air travel. It’s hard to make sure you’re paying the right price, choosing the right airline, and leaving at the right time. We’re here to help you avoid the most common flight mistakes.

What if you do run into problems during your trip? While Allianz Travel Insurance can’t cover every possible travel mishap, we always do our best to help. Every plan includes 24-hour assistance with any travel challenge you face. If you’re flying soon, get a quote.

1. Waiting too long to book your flight

Can you get last-minute flights for cheap? It’s possible, but don’t count on it. In general, prices begin to climb two weeks before departure. Experts say the best time to buy is somewhere in the window of 1 month to 5.5 months before a domestic flight.¹

Also, don’t shop for airfare on a Friday! Prices can jump 5% to 15%, as procrastinators book weekend trips and business travelers plan for the following week. Buy your flights on a Sunday instead.²

If you’re not in a big rush, you can watch the fares and wait. Kayak lets you set up air fare alerts for a destination in a specific date range, for a particular destination at any time, and for the site’s top 25 cities, if you just want to get away on vacation somewhere.

2. Not considering those early-morning flights

No one wants to get up at 3 a.m. for a flight if they don’t have to… but you can save a lot of money and aggravation by flying early in the morning. Those 4-8 a.m. flights are 15% cheaper, on average, compared to later flights.³ You’ll enjoy them more, too: There’s less turbulence, there’s less chance of a flight delay, and the crew will be refreshed.   

3. Forgetting to factor in the fees

You saved $75 when you booked your flight—yay! Then you realized checking your bags will cost you $140 round-trip—not so yay. Baggage fees vary dramatically by airline.⁴ Some (we’re looking at you, Southwest!) allow you to check up to two bags for free. Some charge you for the checked bag and your carry-on. Add in extra costs, like seat-selection fees, and your cheap flight could get really expensive.

4. Failing to account for time spent in customs and immigration

When you’re booking your flights to and from Dominica, a 90-minute layover sounds pretty generous. That’s plenty of time to deplane, show your passport, and find your gate, right? You might even have time for a mojito. But then you arrive in Miami International Airport and find yourself at the end of a mile-long line, behind a thousand sunburned families returning from spring break.

When you’re traveling internationally, the rule of thumb is to allow at least two hours for a layover that includes going through immigration and customs. But if you’re traveling at a busy time—like winter or spring break—give yourself three or more hours. You can also choose an airport that lets you clear customs before arriving in the United States. These Preclearance locations exist at various airports in Ireland, Aruba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada.

5. Assuming your flights will all be on time

If you’re flying in the U.S., there’s about a 1 in 5 chance that a given flight will be delayed.⁵ Not too bad, right? Well… if you’re taking four flights in all (two out and two back), the chance of at least one flight delay is 59%.

What does this mean to a real-life traveler? If you’re traveling for an important or immovable event, don’t cut your flights too close. It’s better to arrive early than to totally miss the concert, the graduation ceremony, or the cruise ship’s departure.

Also, don’t forget to buy travel insurance! Your trip delay benefit can reimburse you for lost pre-paid expenses as well as for meals, a hotel, or other eligible expenses you incur during a covered delay.

6. Not paying attention to the details

You’re flying out of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and returning on Saturday for a quick trip to see your sister. Easy-peasy. But when you show up at Dulles International Airport at 6 a.m., your flight’s not listed anywhere. You double-check the ticket and see that it departs from the other D.C. airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is 30 miles away.

Don’t feel too bad! Flight mistakes like this are all too easy to make. But you can avoid them by taking just a few minutes to double-check these things before you book a flight, and then again before you travel.

• Flight dates and times: Keep in mind time-zone changes and the fact that, unlike the U.S., most countries use a DD-MM-YY format for dates.
• Airport names, locations, and abbreviations: Despite what the Internet tells you, the Salzburg airport does not have a help desk for travelers who mistakenly flew to Austria instead of Australia. But errors like this do happen!
• Documents required for entry: Do you need a paper visa, an e-visa, or a stamp before arrival? Find out with our interactive travel requirements map.
• Passport expiration dates: Most countries require visitors to have a certain amount of valid time remaining (typically 3-6 months) on their passports. If yours expires too soon, you may be turned away.

7. Counting on other passengers to switch seats with you

The “middle seat trick” is a popular but controversial travel hack: A traveling couple books the aisle and window seats in a row, hoping no one will take the middle and they’ll get to enjoy the extra space. It can work (especially if you book seats toward the back of the plane) but can also backfire.

You’ll find dozens of stories online about passengers being asked to give up a seat they paid for and take a worse one in order to accommodate someone else. As you can imagine, the answer is often, “Absolutely not.” If you need a specific seat, pay for seat selection.

8. Skipping the flight insurance

A canceled or delayed flight can seriously disrupt your travel plans—and you can’t rely on airlines to make everything better. That’s why travel insurance for flights is essential. A solid travel protection plan can help you with baggage loss, theft, or damage; covered flight delays; covered trip cancellations and interruptions; medical emergencies; and more.

And not many people know this… but you can get an automatic payment of $100 per insured person, per day, for a covered flight delay if you have the OneTrip Prime or OneTrip Premier plan. Both these plans include SmartBenefits®, which give you the option of receiving the $100 payment without submitting receipts for any purchases. 

What are you waiting for? Find your perfect plan right now.

Related Articles

• 6 of the Most Expensive Travel Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
• Flight Cancellation Insurance: Your Questions Answered
• What Does Travel Insurance Cover