How To Get Cheap flight tickets for Group Travel?

There are times when there is a plan for international travel by a group. This group could be of family, friends or of professionals. So, it can be a working group traveling for some work or a leisurely vacation. This requires arranging for the travel documents and booking the flights. 

While travel documents are to be arranged by persons in their individual capacity, the tickets are to be booked together. For groups of more than 8 or 9 people, the airline does not permit online flight reservations. For them, the booking is required to be done with the flight agents over the phone or with the airline or agency office.

The cheap flight tickets for group travel are not available online. The limitation with the online booking is that passengers can only avail discounts or deals which are available online. These are available to the public at large and there is nothing special to be given online for group flights. 

However, exclusive and more attractive deals can be given offline, over the phone. This is so because there is always a separate inventory of unpublished airfares which are available to agents and these can be availed on call or meeting face to face. Besides these unpublished fare tickets there are group flight discounts which can also be sought.

Another method of reducing the cost of travel internationally by opting for flight passes. You can have the travel itinerary planned in such a manner so as to avail these passes. These passes allow you to travel to different countries at very cheap rates. This is good for people traveling in a group.

You can also enquire about single visas for multiple countries, or visa-free travel destinations. These save you the cost of applying for visa for multiple countries for travel purposes. For instance, the Schengen Visa for Europe serves the same purpose. Many tourists travel to different European countries under this single visa. 

Due to this single facility provided by countries, the agencies plan their travel and tour packages around these countries only. This is highly convenient for the tourists as they can pass through these countries on single visa without having to apply for each one separately.

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Importance of Carrying Proper Travel Documents For International Flights

When flying international you must remember that you are going to a totally different country which has its own laws, practices and regulations. Therefore, while you would be rejoicing the travel to a land of different culture and customs, you must also be careful to be on the right side of law. One of the most important things to check out for are the travel documents. 

These documents shall be appropriate and as per the requirement of the destination country. Sometimes, when there is an intermediary stop in a third country, it is important to have proper documents for entering into that country as well. So, what are the travel documents we would need for international flights?

1.       Passport- This is one of the most important documents needed for international travel. This acts as a valid identification proof for traveling to a foreign land. This single document is acceptable to all the countries of the world.

2.       Air ticket- Quite naturally you would need a confirmed air ticket, either in printed or soft form, to be able to travel. This shall be retained along with the boarding pass for some time after the journey has happened.

3.       Visa and transit Visa- Without a Visa issued by the foreign country, you cannot gain an entry into it. Even when you are flying through some cities, you might need a transit visa. The regulations vary from one country to another.

4.       Special Documents- Certain documents are required to be produced in certain special circumstances or when people fly with certain special passengers. These documents could be:

a)      Health and vaccination documents for pets.

b)      Training documents for pets that serve as emotional support animals or are service dogs.

c)       Fit to Fly certificate for pregnant women.

d)      Birth certificate for infant or child

e)  Identification or valid ID proofs for military personnel, seniors and medical condition patients.

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Labor Tensions, Unaccompanied Minor and Emotional Dog Support Keep AA Busy Whole Week

American Airlines found itself in media highlight for all the wrong reasons the past week. The three notable incidents which put AA in spotlight this week are related to tensions with labor union, holding back unaccompanied minor kids overnight by airline and putting the emotional support dog in bathroom.

Labor tensions

American Airlines has accused the unions of its mechanics- Transport Workers Union of America and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers- for deliberating slowing down the work. It has said that the mechanics have not been operating at their normal work levels for the last few months. This has resulted in cancellations of 900 flights in the last two months. The cancellation of American Airlines reservations has resulted in considerable financial loss to the airline. The airline approached the court and obtained an injunction against the unions. The court directed the mechanics not to participate in any disruption to the airline.

Case of Unaccompanied Kids

How would you react if you are not informed of the arrival of your unaccompanied minor kids? And, on top of it, the kids are kept overnight with the airline itself? Naturally, you would go berserk and try your level best to find the kids. And, if the airline is not cooperating to give a phone access to the kids, you are certainly going to be mad about it.

American Airlines flight had a layover in Charlotte, which was already late, but the kids were not offered food. Instead they were rushed on to next flight to Portland. This flight also got delayed to a few reasons. These delays were not communicated to the parents and even the efforts of the parents to speak to the kids was not supported by the airline. The airline has offered an apology for the incident.

Case of Emotional Support Dog

Yet another incident which has kept the airline in news is that of an emotional support dog being in locked up in bathroom. As per the woman who was flying Miami to Los Angeles when this happened, the airline had not been sensitive to her needs as she required the presence of her emotional support animal because she has been suffering from extreme anxiety. The woman is suing the airline for $75000. However, the airline mentioned in its statement that the as per airline policy 777 planes do not allow pets in premium cabin. The passenger agreed to fly in Main Cabin so that the pet could fly with her in cabin. Further, the dog was carried in a kennel which was not able to fit beneath the seat.    

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The Three Journey Types and Cheap Round Trip Flights

Flights can be booked for three types of journeys. For those who have used the online flight search engines for searching flights and booking air tickets, must have seen all these three journeys listed as options to choose. These three are- One-way, Round Trip and Multi City. One of these three options are to be selected for online flight reservations.

The one-way flight option is selected when the person has to travel from one point to another but does not have plan to return at the time of ticket booking. This means that only the date of departure is to be entered in the search engine form to look for flights.

The round trip travel option is selected when the person has precise plans to return as well and want to search for flights and fares for booking for segments of flight in one go.

The multi city flights are selected when the person has to hop from one destination to another using flights and there is a need to book tickets for all the flights within one itinerary. This is one of the rarest to be used on search engines but, nevertheless, holds promise of cheap flights.

Among these three journey types, the round-trip flights are considered to be cheapest. The airlines always want their seats to be booked as soon as possible with maximum revenue generation. These release tickets for booking in a window of booking period and increase prices as the flight day approaches. 

Therefore, the cheapest fares are to be found at the start of this booking time window and the most expensive fares are available closest to the flight time. Now, since the airline would want to get bookings done in advance, the round trip journeys provide advance bookings scenarios for return journeys. For this reason, round trip flight tickets are generally cheaper than their separate one-way flight tickets.

You must have noticed that the search and booking engines in USA generally have the round-trip journey tab open by default. If you have to take the one-way or multi-city trips, then you have to change the default tab of round-trip. This shows that people in USA do search for round trips because they know that the airlines offer cheaper fares most of the times.

It is also interesting to note that the different flight markets might have different tabs of flight types open by default. So, while round trip tab is open by default in USA and Canada or elsewhere in North America, this is not the case with the Asian countries, such as India. In India, the preferences are for one-way tickets and therefore, the one-way tab can be seen open by default on search engines. 

We made the trips possible for 300,000 passengers and travelers to all around the world. Follow FlightsChannel on  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram for the latest updates, exclusive offers & discounts to your favorite destinations and learn how to travel the world for less.

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How Much Baggage Are You Allowed To Bring After jetBlue Airlines Reservations?

Flyers do have the need to carry some baggage alongwith on the flights. The airlines also recognize this need. The price of air tickets which the airline charges from the airline does include some kind of free baggage allowances, and jetBlue airlines is no different in this respect. It is a matter of fact that some decades back the airlines had free allowance for both the cabin and the check-in baggage. 

This was true globally barring a few exceptions. However, of late, as aviation sector has become more competitive and especially after the arrival of low cost carriers on the horizon, the check-in baggage free allowances have become redundant. Most of the US carriers now do not provide free check in baggage allowances. Jetblue baggage allowance is also not free.

For the people who have completed the jetblue reservations, the free allowance is limited only to cabin baggage nowadays. There are charges for taking even a single check-in bag alongwith. Let us examine its policies for both the cabin and the check-in baggage.

Cabin Baggage Allowance

As is the case with other airlines, jetBlue allows one cabin bag and one personal item free of cost. 22" L (55.88 cm) x 14" W (35.56 cm) x 9" H (22.86 cm) are the three dimensions of the cabin bag which is allowed. The personal items can be a purse, small backpack, laptop or briefcase. There could be some other personal items which are allowed free. This needs to be checked with the customer support team well before you have to fly and preferably at the time of booking airtickets.

Check in Baggage Allowance

The check-in baggage allowance is directly dependent on the frequent flyer status of the member. Blue members have to pay $30 and $40 for 1^st and 2^nd check-in bag respectively. Blue Plus members are allowed 1^st bag free of cost whereas the second is charged $40. For Blue Flex, Mint and Mosaic Members the allowance is free for 2 check in bags.

Please note that the size of bag is considered in linear dimensions, which is the sum of length, breadth and height. The linear size shall not be more than 158 cm and the weight of each bag shall not be more than 23 kg.

However, weight more than 23 kg but less than 45 kg is allowed but there are excess baggage charges for being overweight.

Similarly, size of more than 158 cm but less than 203 cm linear dimensions is also not allowed free. There are excess charges to be paid for this oversized baggage.

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Comparing Airlines On Cheap Air Tickets For Students

Whenever students have to fly in any country, it is natural for them to search for the student deals. Since some airlines do offer student flight deals on regular basis and the word goes around globally that airlines offer deals to students, they search for these inevitably. The cheap student flights are provided by way of reduction in the airfares or by way of offering more check-in baggage allowances. Some airlines have specifically provided the students check-in box in search engine to help them search flights with discounted fares on regular basis. These airlines have clearly identified certain passengers segments for offering cheap air tickets and students are one of these. Asian and European carriers have this feature right in their search engine box.

American carriers, such as United Airlines, are not known for these offers. Whether students or military personnel, direct discounts on fares is hardly on offer anytime during the year for them. While there is excess baggage allowance for military, no such offer is provided to students. United contends that it is providing United Airlines reservations at such a low fare that there is not much scope for reduction in prices any further. The best it and other airlines can do is to provide them enhanced free baggage allowances.

The foreign airlines which do provide these special deals are limited and can be counted on fingers. Indian carrier Jet Airways has an edujetter program and Air India has Maharaja Scholarship program, Malaysia Airlines has the MHExplorer program and China Eastern allows for extra check-in baggage allowances. These are some of the few instances known. All these benefits reduce the overall cost of travel and cheap student flights become a reality which allows them to travel even on small budget.

It is not easy to say whether, by not providing the low airfare tickets, what benefit accrues to the airline. From a common person perspective, this is a lost opportunity as the airline does not factor in the future customers.

We made the trips possible for 300,000 passengers and travelers to all around the world. Follow FlightsChannel on  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram for the latest updates, exclusive offers & discounts to your favorite destinations and learn how to travel the world for less.

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What to Expect in Air Canada Economy Class Cabins?

Air Canada is the flag carrier of Canada. The airline is the oldest carrier of the country and plays a pivotal role connecting the far off regions of this vast country. It also plays a significant role in providing connectivity to the inaccessible, far-off regions of the country. The airline is a full service carrier. 

This means that it not only provide the economy class tickets, but also the higher classes. Passengers looking for Air Canada reservations often have to make choice of cabin classes of travel.  Economy is the least expensive of all whereas the business and first class cabins are pricier than economy.

The economy class of Air Canada has divisions of North America and Caribbean, and that of International. The former comes with a 3-3 configuration with single aisle in middle. The airline offers 600 hours of entertainment including the popular shows of TV, movies and music albums. There is an in-seat laptop charger, about 9 inches personal touchscreen TV, individual reading light, enRoute magazine and pillow/blanket and earphones for a nominal fee.

If you have bought the international economy Air Canada tickets, then you can expected to be offered fine wines and spirits, in-seat power for laptop, personal touchscreen TV, free headphones, adjustable headrest, enRoute magazine and duty-free shopping facility.

While the economy tickets are cheapest, you can still look for economy flight deals to reduce the cost of air tickets further. These deals could be available through different mediums and on different resources. You might have to hunt for these a little bit. Else, you can call the airline customer service to check for the deals as well.

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