What you need to know about booking an airline ticket in 2025 -- Part 1
From calling a travel agent to clicking an airline site to chatting with an AI, there are many ways to book air travel. Perhaps too many. But is there a best way to buy airline tickets?
Here’s a guide to help you sort buying an airplane ticket out. This story was originally written as a single story. As editor, I have broken this down to three parts which will run during the entire week. Enjoy, read, and learn, hopefully.
What’s the outlook for air travel in 2025?
It’s hard to find anyone who thinks 2025 will not break records for air travel. It happened in 2024, and barring a catastrophic event or another pandemic, it will happen again this year.
Airfares will rise by less than one percent in 2025, according to a prediction by CWT and the Global Business Travel Association.
From a customer service perspective, my advocacy team and I are seeing much more use of artificial intelligence, especially in booking and customer service. While that’s not necessarily bad, I’ve noticed that AIs frequently overlook things that a human wouldn’t, like obvious refund errors or scheduling discrepancies.
Never be shy to request a human agent when you’re talking to a chatbot.
What you need to know before you fly anywhere
The airline business model has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis in the last two decades. Gone are the days when air carriers earned money by selling tickets to passengers. They now make most of their profits from loyalty programs, specifically selling miles and points to credit card companies. Airlines also earn significant money from what they call ancillary fees, like advance seat assignments and ticket change fees.
How should I book my airline ticket?
Here’s how you can buy an airline ticket:
Use a travel agent
Typically, travel agents don’t receive a commission for booking airfare. Many advisors will only book a ticket if you ask them to, and usually as part of a package. And some agents charge a service fee for airline tickets. Some fares, such as complex multistop or multi-airline flights, or an around-the-world ticket, are best left to a professional. Agents also have access to wholesale fares that you might not find online. Here’s how to find the best travel advisor. But be warned that some of these fares come with significant restrictions. For a simple point-to-point itinerary, you may be better off booking yourself.
Book directly
Airlines will happily sell you a ticket through their websites or by phone. If you go that route first, you’ll lose the ability to run a side-by-side price comparison with a competing airline. An airline may also charge a fee to buy a ticket by phone, and it may quote you a higher fare than the one you’d find online. You’ll also receive some benefits, however, such as the ability to customize your fare with optional items like the ability to check a bag, get a confirmed seat reservation, or advance-buy Wi-Fi packages. Airlines sometimes offer direct-booking customers a mileage bonus. You’re also working directly with the airline, so you don’t have a travel agent to call for help if you need to change the ticket, and you’ll be bound by that airline’s policies for changes.
Buy through an online travel agency or aggregator
Online agencies such as Expedia or aggregator sites like Kayak or Google Flights display most available airfares. This allows you to quickly compare the most convenient routing and find the most affordable ticket price. What’s more, if something goes wrong, you can, at least in theory, call the online agency for help with everything from rebooking a flight to obtaining a refund. Online agencies are excellent research tools, allowing you to search for the lowest available fare, and then book wherever you want. But these sites will not display every airline, every fare combination, or every route. Instead, they might show fares from airlines with which they have preferred relationships — called fare bias. Note: Southwest Airlines, the biggest domestic U.S. carrier, does not make its fares available to Expedia, Orbitz, and other online travel sites.
Book with an AI
Artificial intelligence is the next frontier of airline booking. Companies like Booking.com have pioneered the use of AI in travel planning with the addition of AI components to their smartphone apps. This may be the year that a standalone AI emerges that handles airline bookings in a smarter way. An AI could easily find the cheapest and most direct route, book your favorite seat and monitor the flight to ensure it is operating normally — in other words, all the things a traditional travel agent used to do. The difference? The AI never sleeps and doesn’t take a commission.
How do I know if I really have a ticket?
Most airline tickets are known as e-tickets, or travel documents that are stored in a database that can be retrieved when needed. So if you’re not getting a piece of paper, how do you know if the ticket is any good? Right after your travel agent sends you your confirmation, go to the airline’s website and check the status of your e-ticket. The way to do this is by using the booking reference (a/k/a record locator or Passenger Name Record, PNR), which is a code containing six letters or numbers — e.g., ENCS2U. Also, be aware that if you booked through a third-party site, that site might have a different record locator. A valid e-ticket will show as “issued” and open for use. A good e-ticket will remain open for use until you check in. If it isn’t, call your agent or airline.
What if my airline is bankrupt?
Avoid booking flights on an airline that has filed for bankruptcy protection. (In 2025, everyone is taking bets on whether Spirit Airlines will survive. Personally, I think it will.) There are no meaningful federal protections for airline passengers when there’s a bankruptcy. If your airline goes out of business, your ticket will be worthless. If you’re trying to get a refund from a bankrupt airline, your quickest path may be a credit card dispute. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have a right to file a chargeback for services you paid for but were not delivered. But don’t wait. You have 60 days from the date of your purchase to file a dispute. Our readers have also had some success obtaining a refund by contacting federal regulators, such as the Department of Transportation.
How do I find the lowest airfare?
Airlines use sophisticated algorithms to calculate demand for their seats. These yield management systems mean that the price you’re being quoted for a flight may not be the lowest one. It’s derived from demand for that flight based on historical averages. What’s more, if you don’t push the “buy” button now, the fare may be gone in a few minutes. Air travelers often find these systems frustrating and unfair, but remember, if you buy, U.S. carriers are required to either “hold” your ticket for 24 hours or offer you a full refund, with certain exceptions.
Unfortunately, fixing the system isn’t as simple as it sounds. For example, if you’ve ever tried to buy a ticket and had the site tell you that the fare was “unavailable” (though a more expensive one was), then you’ve probably felt like the victim of a bait-and-switch. Truth is, you were probably a victim of caching — the practice of storing data on a site so that it can be retrieved quickly. The website just failed to refresh the data, so when you tried to buy the ticket, it was shown as already gone. The lowest advertised fare, or a special sale fare, also might not be available on your day of travel, especially if it’s a Friday or the day before a major holiday.
Are there any tricks to finding a bargain on an international ticket?
In addition to the usual suspects — online agencies like Expedia and meta-search sites like Kayak — you can find deals through ticket consolidators. These are often offline (bricks and mortar) agents who buy tickets in bulk and then resell them to the public. Note: There may be additional restrictions with these types of tickets, so read the fine print carefully, please. During the pandemic, many of these special fares were a use-it-or-lose-it proposition — and passengers lost.
When should I buy my airline ticket?
Book a ticket when you need it. Research suggests that if you buy your ticket when most people do — between one and four months before you fly — you’re likely to find the lowest price. Don’t push the button too early or too late, because fares tend to rise, especially as you close in on your departure date. Some airfare soothsayers claim you can find a bargain by waiting until a particular day and time, like Wednesday at 1 a.m. in the airline’s time zone. But the savings are minimal and probably not worth your time, not to mention the lost sleep.
Can you recommend any tools for finding lower fares?
Yes. Most airlines publish free electronic newsletters or email alerts, but you can also sign up for email notifications from a third-party site like FareCompare or online travel agencies like Orbitz. They’ll let you know if your desired ticket is on sale. Legitimate fare sales don’t last long, so don’t hesitate if you see something you want to book.
A fare predictor such as AirHint can also help you determine if prices are still too high, and if they’re likely to fall. Again, don’t wait too long; airfares usually rise 14 days before the scheduled flight, and then again seven days before the flight departs. Wait too long and you can pay a lot more than you wanted. If you’re flying 6 months from now, it might be wise to wait for a fare sale, but don’t expect ticket prices to drop a month from departure.
Once you’ve purchased your fare, you can also use a fare tracker SkyScanner, which helps secure a refund of the fare difference if the price of your ticket drops. Note: Most major airlines will not refund a fare difference unless it’s more than $150, so don’t get too excited.
I think I overpaid for my flight. What now?
Relax. Your airfare probably represents no more than a third of your trip expenses. You’ll save yourself lots of time and misery by taking a deep breath and following this advice: If you see an airfare you can afford, book it now, and don’t look back.
You might be able to find a less expensive fare, but I can practically guarantee that you’ll waste hours trying to find it — hours that could be better spent doing something more productive.
Airlines have spent a small fortune on yield management technology, but foiling it by subscribing to every fare alert newsletter, reading every airfare blog, and using every tool at your disposal in order to save $10 on your next flight is a meaningless victory. Ask yourself: Is your time really worth only a few dollars an hour? Probably not.
Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.