As more and more of us book our cheap “no frills” flights on line we are growing in confidence in using the familiar looking websites but be warned a lapse in concentration can cost us dearly. 

The larger flight companies regularly change their websites and often “tick” those optional  little extras as required (ie excess luggage, insurance etc) and expect you to deselect the option if not required,  but this is easily overlooked!  So whilst the new regulations insist that the price shown for your flight is inclusive of all taxes, we all need to be aware of other extras that are charged to enable the flight companies to increase their profit margins! 

And if you make a typing mistake when entering your names you can expect to pay highly  for such an error.  Not only will you be charged a, sometimes, extortionate administration fee, but you will also have to pay any difference between what the fare had been when it was booked and the current price. In one instance it was cheaper for a client to forego the reservation where he had mistakenly misspelt his Christian name  and rebook a new flight on the same route!

Administration charges vary from company to company, with Easyjet, Flybe and BMIbaby all under £30 per sector, to Ryanair up to £120 per amendment.

You could always hand over the responsibility to your friendly tour operator who might change you a small handling fee but it could save you money in the long run!