Have you ever purchased a ticket because the price fit within your budget? Then you find out later that it doesn’t include certain things that normally would be included especially when flying overseas. For instance, meals and (first) baggage fees which have always been included, no matter the cost, for international flights. Come to find out, purchasing a ‘low-cost ticket’ these were not included in the price.
I didn’t know this when I purchased my ticket on Kiwi.com. It isn’t the fault of the site where I purchased my ticket. They mainly given you the best prices available for the destination (s) you want to visit. And they did …. I was able to find a round-trip flight to Tallinn, Estonia in October for $579.22. I couldn’t find one this inexpensive on any other site I checked.
I thought I got a great deal and that it would include everything that an international flight should include; meals, baggage fees and drinks. Nope, not one of these things were included when I flew with Norwegian Airlines (long haul flight since I didn’t expect much with the short haul flights I took).
All I can say is call the airlines you are flying with to see what is and isn’t included with your ticket. This way you are not blindsided when you are on your flight and you are not given a meal, free drinks (not even talking alcoholic ones but sodas and juice) and you find out you have to pay to check in your bag. You definitely do not want to be blindsided on the food and drinks and then have to pay three times what you would have because you were not informed of this. if you knew about it beforehand then you could have come prepared with your own food and drinks for the flight saving money.
So basically, I found out that nothing was included with my ticket, by accident, when I called Norwegian Airlines to see which meals I would be receiving on the long haul flight. (I am one of those people that like to be prepared, somewhat, for my trips). Because I had what Norwegian Airlines considered a ‘low-cost ticket’, I would not be receiving any meals. Now I could purchase them through Norwegian Airlines website before the trip or purchase them on the flight itself if I wanted.
I hung up the phone with them and thought to myself if meals were not included then did that mean drinks were not included too. I called them back and sure enough, sodas and juice were not included because of the type of ticket I purchased. I couldn’t believe this …. All of this used to be included. When did things change from the prior year when I flew international to now that you had to pay for everything.
I am not saying don’t purchase an inexpensive ticket when flying internationally. All I am saying is that you should be prepared for any circumstance that might arise. Be prepared for bringing your own food and drink onboard to save money. Be prepared to purchase meals and drinks onboard if you didn’t bring anything with you. I am glad that I tend to be a planner with instances like this so I am not blindsided with part of my trip; especially the beginning of the trip.
I still think finding that low-cost fare of $579.22 was great for me. It kept me within budget …. All I had to do was buy my own food and drink to bring onboard with me keeping me within the budget I set for myself.
Do you stick to the cheaper flight when getting ready to book that ticket along with keeping in mind the potential added costs of the flight that might be involved? Do you book the more expensive flight knowing you don’t have to worry about your meals and drinks because they will be included in the price of the ticket? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
