Flying in Nigeria could be expensive but you
when you are armed with the right information,
you can avoid spending more . To book cheap
flights in Nigeria, it is important to get familiar
and maximize discount bookings offered by
airlines. This will guide you in choosing your
dates and times of travel.
To avoid unnecessary expenses and the stress
associated with airfare, you need to note these 5 common mistakes
Nigerians make when booking a flight;

1. BOOKING TOO EARLY
When it comes to flying, the super early bird really
does catch the worm. While booking early for travel
to popular destinations, as well as travels on high-
traffic days and peak seasons may seem like a good
rule of thumb, getting your flight ticket more than 3
months before the trip will most likely not yield the
best price as you will be charged a higher fare.
You stand the greatest chance for the lowest
possible fare 45 days out for domestic travel and 60
days for international because outside that time
window, most airline computers are not
programmed to give you any kind of a deal.
Also, airlines are still confident they will find a
maximum amount of passengers to fill the seats, so
they keep the fare high enough for extra benefits. It
seems like a very tricky thing to do but booking at
the right time can save you money.

2. BOOKING TOO LATE
Neither too early, nor too late! Do not hold off too
long to book your tickets especially when it is for an
international trip.
Apart from business trips which very often tend to
be impromptu, you can plan your honeymoon,
vacations and retreats in advance. If you have
already marked out the probable flying date on the
calendar, why not book a flight ahead to get rebates
on airfare?
In Nigeria, the difference between today and
tomorrow’s airfare, depending on the available seats
on flight is staggering.
Some airlines still offer low-cost, last-minute flights,
especially when they are running a promo, but the
likelihood is slim.
The only other exception to this is the bargain
shopping found at the counter of these airlines on
the morning of departure. In a mad scramble to fill
the plane, some airlines reduce the cost of tickets
and give you the option of saving thousands of Naira
on a choice flight. This, however, is usually an option
reserved for those who know how to hustle.

3. BOOKING DURING BUSINESS HOURS
If you are a savvy Nigerian traveller, you will know
that airline ticket prices fluctuate throughout the day
and you have a chance of making substantial savings
just by booking at the right hour or time of the day.
Many people who do not know this trick end up
paying more for their flights.
Business hours (9 am – 5 pm) are the worst times to
book your airfare as there are a large number of
others trying to book a flight ticket and the rush in
traffic inevitably ups the ticket rates.
Travel experts say that the best time to book a flight
is actually Wednesday at 1 a.m (in the time zone the
airline is based) as all of the super-low fares that
were not purchased come back onto the airline’s
system, providing a prime opportunity to take
advantage of a glut of discounted ticket prices.

4. NOT BOOKING WITH THE AIRLINE
In Nigeria, there are so many platforms that assist
with airfare comparison and flight bookings.
While this seems like a good option to take,
especially as it makes booking super easy and
convenient, it can cost you much more than you are
willing to deal with. Apart from the charge they tack
on to book through them, sometimes of these
websites get your information wrong or give you
incorrect details on the airline you are booking on.
For instance, they can charge you normal flight rates
when the airline is running a seasonal promo. So
once you have done research and found the lowest
available flight, get on the airline’s website or call
them directly to book the flight yourself.


5. NOT CLEARING YOUR COOKIES
This might be a little too tech for some travellers,
but it is a huge mistake most people who book their
flights online make. Every savvy traveller is well
aware of the fact that most airlines track online
behaviour of their users, that way they identify
which flights that are searched frequently per time
and up the airfare for such flights.
It is therefore important to clear your cookies or
book on another computer altogether after
shopping for fares on one computer, as that is the
best way to counter the trend. You can even take it a
step further by changing your location or simply
asking someone in another location to make the
booking for you. Again, you can beat the IP issue by
using your mobile device as long as you it is not also
using your home Wi-Fi connection.

Source: http://www.naij.com/484778-five-errors-to-avoid-when-booking-a-flight.html?tsi=0008&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=mgidnew&utm_campaign=mgid2&utm_term=36393&utm_content=1478048

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