NO ONE wants to pay more than they have to for plane tickets, especially with travel costs soaring this summer.
However, it could be worth coughing up a little bit extra to book your flights directly with the airline, to get some peace of mind.
A flight attendant has revealed why you should think twice about using budget websites to book flights, suggesting they could lead to you being bumped off the plane.
According to cabin crew member Kristie Koerbel, if a flight is oversold, it is often the tickets from the third party sites that are the first to be bumped from the plane.
She also said booking via the cheaper sites reduces your chances of sitting next to friends or family.
In an article for New York Times the travel expert warned passengers to “think twice” about where they buy their plane tickets.
She said: “Flights are full. If you buy the cheapest seats, you may not be able to sit with your family. It says so when you purchase your ticket.
“Flight attendants aren’t there to rearrange the whole plane just so you can sit together because you tried to save money on a third-party website.
“Also, be aware that if a flight is oversold and no one volunteers to give up their seat, the first to be bumped will be the family that saved a few dollars by using a bargain website.”
Her warning comes not long after Heathrow asked airlines to consider removing holidaymakers from their flights as they look to reduce the number of passengers travelling from the airport.
Europe’s biggest airport wants carriers to slash seat numbers to slow down an onslaught of passengers surging through its terminals.
The plans were floated last Thursday at a meeting between airport bosses and airlines as an alternative to cancelling flights altogether.
Heathrow initially said airlines must stop flogging summer tickets with a view to cutting 4,000 passenger departures.
The airport has capped the number of people departing from its terminals to 100,000 until September.
This flight attendant warned passengers about flight times this summer, saying normal rules no longer applied.
Another cabin crew member explained why they might hand out free drinks to customers.
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