A: You are free to change your planned route and destinations up until you pay for your tickets. Once tickets are paid for or issued, routing changes generally require buying additional or replacement tickets. Date changes -- as long as you stick to the originally ticketed airlines and sequence of stops -- are much easier and less costly than changes of routes or destinations.
A: We strongly recommend that you insist on having confirmed reservations for all flights before you make your final payment for tickets. It's more work for us to make reservations for you than to issue "open-dated" (unreserved) tickets. But if you have only open tickets, you have no reservations, and no guarantee that space will be available when you want to travel. You may have to wait days or weeks to travel if flights are fully booked, which happens all too often.
A: If you need or want to leave right away, we can issue and ship your tickets the same day we receive your final payment. We've had people walk into our office in the morning, buy tickets around the world, and be on a plane to their first destination that same night. We can usually get you a better price if we have more time to source your tickets globally, wherever we can get the best price for each part of your itinerary. Assembling your tickets from our suppliers around the world may take up to a month. On shorter notice, we are limited to prices available from our own special agreements directly with the airlines, or from local wholesalers. Ideally, to get the best prices and have the most choices available, you should start planning your trip four to six months before you plan to leave, and purchase your tickets at least two months before your first flight.
A: TripPlanner prices international air tickets ranging from low to high season. Since we don’t request the majority of your travel dates up front, our TripPlanner prices are not final. This pricing merely gives you a rough estimate for the air component and is geared towards travelers who plan to buy their tickets at least one month or more before departure. And it depends on whether or not the least expensive seats are still available on our best-valued airlines. Seasons vary by destination and route, so check with your personal travel consultant for the seasons applicable to your itinerary. Prices may end up being higher than the estimated range, of course, if the least expensive seats are already sold out - Plan ahead!
A: Yes. All advertised specials and price estimates on our TripPlanner are discounted adult prices, but we have even greater discounts on many routes for children under age 12, full-time students, and senior citizens. Discounts vary depending on the specific route and airlines. Please advise your personal travel consultant so he or she can get you any discounts for which you qualify.
A: AirTreks works with nearly every airline on Earth. In general, we'll start by suggesting the airlines we think provide the best combination of service and value for your desired destinations. We have special prices on some of the world's best airlines. But if you'd rather fly on other airlines, we'll be happy to accommodate your airline preferences.
A: 4-6 months before your first planned departure date. This will ensure that you get the best prices and that there is seat availability.
A: No. Last-minute fares are usually the highest fares for people who have to travel regardless of the price. Seats on the airlines that offer the best value, and seats allocated to the lowest fares, are usually the first to sell out. We can often get discounts even for last-minute travel, but we can almost always get even better prices on the same airlines and routes if you can plan and purchase your tickets further in advance.
A: There is no fixed or standard price per stop. In general, the largest factor in the price of your tickets is the total distance you fly. Some destinations may add more to the price than others because they add more to the length of your route, because they are served by fewer or more expensive airlines, or simply because airlines price them higher. Your personal travel consultant can advise you on which destinations to drop from your wish list in order to suit your airfare budget. Use
TripPlanner to help price your route.
A: As many as you want. We've issued tickets around the world with as many as 50 stops, but that's not a limit -- we invite you to break that record.
A: As long as you prefer. Under airline rules, tickets are valid a maximum of one year from the date they are issued. If you want to travel for longer than that, you can buy your tickets in two or more stages. Many of our clients travel for more than a year, and buy their tickets in several stages. Talk to your AirTreks personal travel consultant about the best way to break up your tickets if you don’t plan to complete your journey within a year from now.
A: Yes, absolutely. The sample routes and prices on our Web site are only examples of the endless number of possibilities for your air trek -- rarely do any of our clients follow the same route. With our
TripPlanner, you can create your own customized trip with an unlimited number of destinations, and get an instant online price estimate.