Before reserving, passengers should know departure and arrival dates. Other factors include time of day and location of departures and arrivals. Passengers also must consider budget, and whether they want economy or premium seats.
While each airline has an online system to reserve flights, travel sites abound that can search several airlines at once. With these features, one can immediately see what works within travel dates and budget.
Each airline varies when it comes to handling cancellations, reschedules and refunds. It is customary to be charged a fee for changes to a reservation after it's made. In the case of international flights, this can be up to $200, as of 2010. Travelers may not be able to get a ticket refund if they went through a third-party to secure their reservation.
