A Reddit user booked flights in advance for a family trip, only for the confirmation to ‘disappear’ before departure
When one Reddit user booked flights for their family’s big international trip, they thought they were ready for take off.
But as the trip was approaching, they checked the app they used to book their flights and couldn’t find their tickets anywhere.
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“United royally messed up my family’s reservations for a large international trip we had coming up. Booked the tickets forever ago, only to have them disappear from our app with no communication from United,” the user wrote on Reddit.
The key words in this post are “reservations” and “booked,” which are not the same as receiving the tickets.
Booking a flight reserves your spot on the plane before your payment goes through, which can take up to three business days, according to travel technology consulting company AltexSoft. But it seems their reservation was never actually finalized.
“(I) called them only to find out they never ticketed us even though they charged us thousands of dollars AND gave us confirmations, seats confirmed,” the user wrote.
While it’s not exactly clear what happened, the mishap is a good reminder of what you should look out for after you book important travel arrangements.
Booked vs. ticketed
When you buy a plane ticket online, you often receive multiple emails, especially if one or more of your flights are operated by a partner airline. The first one confirms your booking, which is likely the email the Reddit user received.
In the booking email, there may be a disclaimer explaining that you will receive a follow-up email with e-tickets and a receipt once the reservation is processed, and that you should call customer service if you don’t get the emails.
This was news to the Reddit user.
“I had never heard of such a thing. This is a dumb question but where are you supposed to see a ticket # vs a confirmation #? I’ve never thought to check after booking but now will be doing so every time,” they said in the comment section.
E-ticket numbers can be found in those follow-up emails if they’re not provided in the first email.
The unique part of this user’s problem is that they were charged for the booking but still didn’t receive tickets. And they only received a refund for the tickets after complaining about the reservation disappearing from their app.
“This one wasn’t a payment issue as I was charged months ago for these tickets. Luckily I am being refunded but it’s crazy to me that I had to call them out on it,” they said in the comments. “I would have showed up to the airport expecting to get on a plane because I’d been charged and had a confirmation number.”
If you’re ever unsure about a booking, you can contact customer service to double-check that they’ve received the payment and that you’ve received the email that contains your tickets.
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Planning ahead for cheap airfare
While the Reddit user may have neglected to confirm their e-ticket numbers, they were right to book their family’s flights well in advance.
Airline ticket prices change significantly depending on when you want to travel and how far in advance you’re looking.
Scott Keyes, founder of Going, an airfare price monitoring platform told U.S. News that if you’re flying domestically, it’s best to look for tickets one to three months in advance, while international fliers should check prices between two and eight months before departure.
That’s because airline ticket prices fluctuate, creating a sweet spot for a period of time that you can capitalize on.
Both Google Flights and Skyscanner offer “alerts” which will email or text you when prices for a specific route have become cheaper. For the best deal, make sure you compare your flight times and destinations before you book your travel arrangements.
There could be a special event or holiday at your destination which makes a certain time of year more expensive to travel than another. At the same time, some destinations may be cheaper than you expect.
Buying at the last minute with only one destination in mind is probably the most expensive way to travel. So if there’s no agenda, try being open to where you want to go and when — it might just save you a bundle.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
