Advance flight booking? Check 2 WEEKS before you fly

Many flights are being cancelled by airlines as they fight to stay in profit. These cancellations are not overnight decisions, even though you may not find out about them until it’s too late to book anything else at a similar price.

The Terms and Conditions of your contract with the airline may not protect you as much as you would expect, so it’s worth your while to read them and make sure you understand exactly what you are entitled to in the event of your flight being canceled.

In any case, if you have booked a flight some time before you actually intend to fly, you should take the precaution of phoning the airline (not the estate agent or other person through whom you did the booking) to check that the flight is still scheduled. Don’t rely on the airline to do this for you. Increasing numbers of people are being offered nothing but a refund of their ticket price.

To avoid disappointment, ring the airline far enough ahead so that you have at least a chance of finding another flight at the lower “book ahead” price, if your original flight is canceled.