Travel advisers outline 10 booking practices they avoid, urging direct purchases and longer connections

Travel agents and industry advisers told HuffPost they routinely avoid a set of common booking practices that can exacerbate delays, add fees or complicate rebooking when disruptions occur.

Advisers said they compare carriers beyond price, avoid tight or mixed-carrier connections, link reservations for traveling companions, research seat maps and fare restrictions, and prefer booking directly with airlines or through professional travel-agency air desks rather than online travel agencies.

"I always compare different airlines, not just for pricing but also for schedules, layovers and overall service quality," said Ronit Margolis, a travel adviser with Fora. Margolis and other agents said the lowest cash fare can come with trade-offs such as long layovers, inconvenient travel times and added fees that erode any apparent savings.

Jonathan Alder, founder of Jonathan’s Travels, cautioned against assuming low-cost carriers provide the same protections as larger commercial airlines. "Flying with low-cost carriers comes with certain risks," he said, noting that those carriers are often not obliged to offer re-accommodation or refunds in the same way mainstream carriers are. Agents cited high-profile cases in which travelers on smaller carriers have faced prolonged delays and limited options for rerouting.

Several advisers urged travelers to avoid booking connecting flights on separate carriers when nonstop options are available. "I always try to book nonstop flights, even if more expensive," said Ashley Lancer of Valerie Wilson Travel. When connections are necessary, agents prefer itineraries on a single carrier so the airline can rebook passengers automatically if one leg is canceled or delayed.

Advisers also recommended against tight layovers. Caroline Weilert of Fora said she avoids connections under 90 minutes for international travel, suggesting travelers "assume everything will be one hour late" when planning. Chirag Panchal, another Fora adviser, said allowing extra time reduces the likelihood of last-minute scrambling and that spending a few extra hours in an airport lounge is preferable to risking a missed connection.

Linking reservations for people traveling together was another common recommendation. Weilert noted that if one traveler is on an award ticket and another on a paid fare, airlines may not recognize them as a party unless reservations are linked. That lack of linkage can result in split-party rebookings during disruptions. Kareem George, founder of Culture Traveler, emphasized booking seats together in advance rather than relying on other passengers to swap.

Seat selection and fare-class details drew repeated attention. Advisers advised checking independent seat-mapping tools such as SeatGuru rather than relying solely on the airline's seat map, which can obscure issues like nonreclining exit-row seats, reduced under-seat space or proximity to lavatories. Michael DeLucca, founder of Otsy, warned that an exit row's extra legroom can come at the cost of recline, making overnight comfort worse than a standard seat.

Basic-economy fares, which often exclude carry-on bags, seat selection and ticket flexibility, were commonly singled out as a false economy. "I never book basic economy," said Lancer. Brianna Glenn, CEO of Milk + Honey Travels, said passengers should read fare-class restrictions before committing, because added ancillary charges can negate the lower headline price.

On search behavior, DeLucca recommended using a virtual private network or incognito browsing to avoid apparent price increases tied to repeated searches. He said a VPN can also surface market-specific promotional rates by masking a user's location, though he did not provide data on frequency or magnitude of such price variations.

Agents urged travelers to consider arrival times and jet lag when selecting flights. Glenn said arriving late at night can undermine the first day of a trip or complicate hotel check-in, and advised avoiding red-eye departures when a daytime arrival is important. DeLucca noted that he will take a red-eye for a return leg to preserve weekend time at home, demonstrating how preferences can vary by itinerary purpose.

Searching multiple nearby airports was another practical tip. Angela Marini of Fora recommended checking alternate airports — for example, Fort Lauderdale when traveling to Miami or Philadelphia for travelers in parts of New Jersey — to find better schedules or lower fares.

Finally, several advisers recommended against booking through large online travel agencies. "I would absolutely 100% never book a flight on an online travel agency like Expedia," said Marini. She and Panchal advised booking through an airline's website or via a travel-agency air desk with a dedicated team, arguing those options provide clearer recourse for changes, cancellations and customer-service issues.

The guidance reflects a trade-off between price and reliability that has become more salient as carriers and distribution channels have diversified and ancillary fees have proliferated. Agents framed their rules as risk-management tools intended to reduce the likelihood of a travel day turning into a logistical problem, rather than guarantees of a disruption-free journey.

Travelers weighing cost and convenience can apply the advisers' recommendations selectively: prioritize direct bookings and seat selection for itineraries with tight connections or important arrival times, allow generous buffers for international transfers, and read fare rules carefully to understand what a cheap ticket actually includes. Agents said that in many cases, paying a bit more upfront for flexibility, a single-carrier itinerary or a seat assignment can avoid higher costs and stress later on.