A: As long as you still want to travel on the same airline and route, most changes to flight dates and times can be made directly with the airline involved.
If seats are not available on your preferred flight, ask to be placed on the waiting list, and keep checking with the airline to see if you have been confirmed. Don't cancel your original reservations until you are confirmed on the new flight, or you may find yourself unable to travel at all.
AirTreks charges a US$50 service fee, in addition to any airline fees, for any changes you have us make to your flights, including date changes, which could have been made directly with the airline.
(If this does not answer your question,
contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.)
A: Do not rely on the airlines, or on the face value of tickets, for information on the refund value of your tickets. The price printed on the ticket, if any, is often unrelated to what you paid, or to the refund value of the ticket. Airlines frequently give incorrect information as to whether discounted tickets are refundable, or how much refund value they have.
We recommend that you check with us first, for an estimate of the refund value, before you submit any tickets for refund.In order to qualify for any refund, you must cancel your reservations with the airline before the scheduled flight time. If you "no-show" a ticketed and confirmed flight, you may forfeit any eligibility for a refund. If you have to cancel your plans for medical reasons, it may help us to get as much of a refund as possible for you if you can provide a signed note from a doctor (original, not a copy, on medical letterhead) certifying that you were unable to travel.
Refunds are neither automatic nor instantaneous. In order to get a refund, you must (1) cancel your reservations before the scheduled departure date and time of your flights, (2) send us your paper ticket, or your electronic ticket receipt, with a request for a refund, and (3) wait until we receive the refund from the airline or wholesaler by whom it was issued, which can take up to a year. As soon as we receive your refund, we will contact you to find out if you want your refund (after any penalties) applied to your purchase of new tickets, paid to you by check, or credited to your charge card. Please contact us for additional details and instructions before sending your tickets for refund.
(If this does not answer your question,
contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.)
A: Most tickets from AirTreks are non-refundable. Cancellations for any reason, including medical reasons, usually will not entitle you to any refund. AirTreks cannot waive airlines' cancellation penalties. Please check with your personal travel consultant regarding the cancellation policies for your specific itinerary. AirTreks strongly recommends trip cancellation and interruption insurance, which is available as part of the many travel insurance packages from our Travel Store. Read more about cancellations and refunds.
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: Date change rules vary by route, airline, and fare. As a general rule, the date for the first international flight of your journey is fixed, and cannot be changed without substantial cost. Changes to most other flights are permitted, subject to airline change fees and availability of seats on your desired new dates. Most date changes while you are traveling can be made directly with the airlines. Please consult your personal travel consultant for the date change rules applicable to your specific itinerary.
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: AirTreks has a dedicated customer service team to assist you throughout your trip.
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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: You don't always have to travel by air: You can fly into one place, travel onward by land or by other surface transportation such as a cruise, and resume your flights from another city -- without having to backtrack to where you arrived in order to continue your flights. Many of our clients prefer to travel within some countries and regions by train, bus, or rented car. Tickets for the portion of the route specified as "surface" or "overland" are not included in our price.
A: With most of the tickets we sell, you can get frequent flyer mileage credit with any of the programs in which the airlines participate. However, the best-value tickets sometimes don't qualify for frequent flyer mileage credits. Please check with your personal travel consultant for any restrictions on mileage credit for your tickets. If you prefer, we can always use fares that qualify for frequent flyer mileage, although they may be more expensive. It's up to you to decide what's more important to you, and how much the mileage credits are worth.
A: No. Our TripPlanner will list all the stopovers allowed for the price, but you can usually arrange to skip stopovers you don't want. You may have to pass through certain "hubs" to get the best price, or if there are no direct flights between your desired stopovers. If you are not interested in a stopover, let us know and we'll try to book you straight through, to the extent schedules permit, with just a change of planes.
A: Of course. The airlines don't allow us to advertise their names on our Web site with our low prices, but before we make reservations, we'll tell you exactly which airlines will be used. Once your reservations are confirmed, we'll send you a complete itinerary with the airlines, flight numbers, times, and other details to review before your final payment. Please remember that airlines reserve the right to change their schedules at any time. If you have important appointments, such as business meetings or the departure of a cruise, trek, or tour, we recommend that you schedule your arrival at least a day in advance, to allow for possible schedule changes by the airlines.
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: No. No. No. No. And no. Because we combine a set of discounted tickets with stopover tickets to assemble a package with exactly the destinations you want, tickets from AirTreks don't have to follow any of the same rules or restrictions that are typical with the air alliance products. We can get you wherever you want to go, in whatever order you want.
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.