- Read the terms and conditions for your travel carefully. Your rights and obligations as a passenger will be regulated by the airline’s travel terms. Here you will find important information about e.g. the time you must arrive and check in, itinerary changes and the ability to cancel the trip. The conditions vary from airline to airline, so you should always read the policies before placing the order.
- Make sure that all information is filled in correctly before placing the order.
- Remember that there is no legally mandatory right to cancellation when booking a flight. That means you cannot claim reimbursement of the ticket costs if you do not have the opportunity to travel.
- Check the final price before you book your ticket. Many airlines choose to split up the price so you have to pay extra for services like seat reservation, payment by credit card, check-in, checked baggage etc. Find out what additional services you have to pay for, and compare the various travel options with all charges included. In this way, you can find the deal that best fits your needs.
- If you buy airline tickets through an online travel agency, be aware that some agencies charge high fees to assist you in changing tickets, the refund of taxes and fees, and the use of cancellation insurance. Check what kinds of fees the agency charges before you book the ticket.
- In some cases you have to order checked luggage directly from the airline company after you have bought your ticket. The airline company often charges extra for this service.
Online booking of accommodation
- Make sure to read the terms and conditions before ordering. Online intermediaries of hotel accommodation can operate with different terms than the hotel. It is therefore important that you know the terms when it comes to cancellation, payment etc.
- Compare the price the online intermediaries offer with the price you can get on the hotel’s own webpage before ordering. This will ensure you get the best price.
- Be wary of travel intermediaries’ guarantees of having the “cheapest” prices. Always check to see if other intermediaries offer better deals.
- If you order through Airbnb, know that the price given on the first page when you browse for accommodation is not the total price of your booking, but the price excluding mandatory service fees and cleaning fees. The total price information will only appear on the different accommodations’ main pages. The Consumer Ombudsman has an ongoing case against Airbnb on this issue, and has asked them to change this practice.
Check others’ experiences
Many travel agencies use user reviews in marketing. Others’ feedback on a hotel or restaurant can make it easier for you to choose between different options. But be aware that cheating with user reviews can occur. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is your gut instinct telling you that what you are reading cannot be trusted? You might not immediately see that a user review is fake, but there are certain indications that it is. If many of the reviews look the same or have been submitted at the same time, or you get the feeling that the review is not written by a person who travelled to the location but is more like an advertisement, it is likely not to be trusted.
- Does the page contain information about how the quality of the user reviews is secured? Use common sense, and take other sources into account to double check the information that is important to you.
Filing a complaint
If you do not come to an agreement with the airline company or travel agent about your rights, you can file a complaint to the Air Passenger Complaint Handling Body. You must, however, first have made a written complaint to the company in question. If the flight is booked as a part of a package tour, you can contact Pakkereisenemda (The Package Travel Complaint Handling Body).