How do I plan a flight in advance?

When booking flights in advance, there are a few things you can do to eliminate stress.

This blog will discuss:

• How far in advance you should book your flights
• Airlines that let you book your flights well in advance
• Perks to add to secure your booking
• The best way to pay for early-booked flights

How in advance should I book my flights?

Many airlines let you book your flights up to a year before your intended travel date. This is very early. Any time over 3 months for international flights and 2 months for domestic ones is considered well in advance.

Why book flights well in advance?

• Often cheaper.
• Greater seat selection.
• If you're booking group tickets but don't choose to pay extra to select your seats, there's a higher chance you'll be sat with your group.
• More time to plan other parts of your vacation.

Which airlines let you book well in advance?

A crucial part of planning your flight is knowing which airlines you can and can't book with. If you want to book your flight really early, then the number of airlines available to you may be limited. Lots of airlines won't start selling tickets until 10 months before departure.

Check out our page, detailing how far in advance you can book tickets with popular airlines, for more information.

Some of the airlines that let you book well in advance include:

• Jet2 as early as 18 months in advance.
• Norwegian as early as a year in advance.
• Iberia as early as a year in advance.
• Cathay Pacific as early as a year in advance.
• Lufthansa as early as a year in advance.

How can I protect my flight?

An important but sometimes forgotten step when planning and booking well in advance is ensuring your finances are protected.

While booking early has lots of positives, usually it's cheaper, and you get more choices over your seats, it does have the odd downside.

When booking your flight considerably in advance, you run the risk of having to cancel your flight due to unforeseen circumstances.

At Alternative Airlines, you can protect your booking with our refund protection. This means that if an emergency causes you to cancel your flights, you'll still get your money back. We ticket 600+ airlines, and many of those airlines don't offer refunds when booked directly. However, when you book through Alternative Airlines and add refund protection during the booking process, regardless of the airline, you'll be refunded.

Emergencies that qualify you for a refund at Alternative Airlines include:

• Court summons.
• Death of an immediate family member.
• Government travel ban.
• Home emergency (burglary, flooding, etc.).
• Illness (you or an immediate family member).
• Redundancy.
• See the full list of emergencies here.

If the worst happens and you have to cancel your flight, know that the money you spent on your ticket will be refunded to you.

How should I pay for flights booked in advance?

There are 40+ ways to pay for your flights at Alternative Airlines. You can pay upfront with a debit card or fly now and pay later with a Buy Now Pay Later. However, our top choice for flights booked in advance is paying with a deposit through our partner Slice Pay, a travel layaway product.

What does Slice Pay offer?

• Slice Pay lets you put a 10% deposit on your flights. You can then pay the rest of your flights in up to 26 weekly instalments.
• With Slice Pay, you get to pay over time without any credit checks. In fact, Slice Pay has absolutely nothing to do with credit! This means that even if you miss a payment, your credit score won't be affected.
• Slice Pay is entirely interest-free. You won't be charged any interest even if you miss a payment.
• Payments must be completed by the end date of your contract (around a week before your flights). If not, rather than lowering your credit or incurring interest, your flights will be cancelled.

The reason we think Slice Pay is such a good option for flights booked in advance is because it lets you pay slowly. If you've booked your tickets months before departure, you'll be able to pay back your flights in tiny instalments that finish before travel. This eliminates lingering costs while ensuring no large sum of money is leaving your account at one time!

Planning checklist

• Research airlines that let you book flights early and know which airlines you can and can't book with.
• Add cancellation protection in case emergency circumstances close to booking force you to cancel your flight. This way your tickets will be refunded.
• Pay with a deposit. Pay in small instalments over a long period of time that ends before departure.

Book your flights today!

Whether you'll be travelling in a couple of months or a year, you can book your flights today at Alternative Airlines.

Alternative Airlines is an online travel booking company. You can book with over 600 airlines, including ultra-low-cost options like Frontier and Ryanair, as well as luxury carriers like Emirates and Etihad.

Pay your way with deposit options, Buy Now Pay Later, and traditional upfront payment methods available.

Still not sure about choosing us? Check out our reviews from all the happy customers we've helped travel across the globe. We're a 4.9-star company on Trustpilot!