Is Flight Oz704 Leaving Manila On August 12, And Going To Korea. On Schedule? Do

The easiest way to avoid the "great flight boondoggle" is to reconfirm flights 2-3 days ahead of your travel date.

This allows you to be absolutely certain your flight is leaving when you think it is.

Even in the era of automated emails and iPhone apps, it's highly recommended you reconfirm flights with a phone call.

Through our 20+ years in the industry, we've seen countless emergencies that could have been avoided with a simplecall to the airline or website visit before the flight.

What it means "to reconfirm flights" has changed a lot since the old days. The airlines don't need you to tell them you're coming - they assume you are.

But you should always make sure your flight is departing according to the itinerary you have in your hand. These days airlines have a really bad habit of changing their flight schedules or, at worst, completely removing a flight, sometimes at the last minute.

Of course, a schedule change isn't a big deal if the difference is a few minutes more or less, but if the new schedule winds up dramatically different (up to a day or more), it leaves you in the lurch if you didn't know about it ahead of time.

On a complicated itinerary, schedule changes can complicate your life - there may be thru flights totally unwilling to wait for you if your altered schedule is on another airline, which happens a lot.

Prior knowledge is half the battle!

• Visit the airlines' website and check the flight schedules/status.
• Phone the airline directly. Here's our list of airline toll-free numbers and websites.
• Unofficially, Google tells you if your flight is leaving on time. Simply search the two-letter airline code and the flight number: [BA 10]. Without brackets.
• Ask the hotel/hostel concierge to call the airline on your behalf.
• Go into a local travel agency and have them contact the airline for you.
• Visit the airline's in-city ticket office. Often a national carrier will populate their major cities with offices were you can speak with an agent on site.
• Email or call AirTreks to have us reconfirm any flight we booked for you.
• Give the airline a local contact number (such as a hotel or hostel) or email address so they can attempt to notify you of any major changes
• If you're only staying in a city a few days, stop at the check-in counter before you leave the airport and reconfirm your flight out of that city.