Booking Flights for a Group Holiday

PART 1: Group Travel Checklist

PART 2: Group Holiday Ideas

Part 3: Booking Group Flights

So you’ve decided on where you’re going and what you’re doing, the next step is organising your flight.  We have compiled a list of handy tips for booking low cost flights for your group:

Flexibility       

Did you know that most airlines offer a group bookings option that offers advantages like greater flexibility in terms of passenger names and sometimes even payment?  Unlike with ordinary bookings, you don’t have to provide all names at the moment of booking, and in many cases name changes are allowed free of charge up to a few days before departure.

Price            

Do not refer to the price of your chosen flights on the airline website!  Usually there are only a certain number of seats available at that price, so if there are a lot of you, the difference in price will be spread out between all of you, meaning that the price is likely to be higher than if you were booking just 1 or 2 seats.

Policy

Each airline has its own group policy, and will provide you with a tailor made quote for your group.  Airlines usually have a dedicated groups team who will provide you with your quote and look after your booking until you travel.

Here are some of the main low-cost carriers group bookings policies:

Ryanair 

• Min 20 passengers
• Full payment at time of booking
• 50% of passenger names halfway between booking date and departure date, the remaining 50% must be provided 14 days before departure
• Normal rules apply for baggage and seat allocation

Easyjet 

• Min 15 passengers
• Full payment at time of booking
• Names can be confirmed or changed up to 72 hours before outbound flight allowing for last minute changes
• Allocated seating included, where possible blocks seats together

Flybe

• Min 9 passengers
• You can pay a deposit then pay the balance at least 6 weeks before departure.  
• Names must be provided no later than 6 weeks before departure, but can be changed up to 6 days before departure for no extra charge.
• Hold baggage included, up to 23kg per person

Eurowings

• Min 10 passengers
• Full payment at time of booking
• Adding/changing names possible at no extra cost up to four days before departure
• 10% of booked passengers may cancel up to one month before departure

So there you have it, go forth and organise your group holiday, booking group flights couldn’t be easier!

Any more ideas or tips for making sure everything goes smoothly?  Let us know in the comments below.

PART 4: Booking Group Holidays with AB