Airlines start
"clearing seats" 7 or more days prior to the flight. This
means that they send messages on the reservation system to ask if the
passenger intends to travel as per the reservation.
Depending on load factors, system-generated auto-cancellation deadlines
are given, and
this appears on your booking as the "Ticketing Deadline".
If the booking is cancelled, and other agents have
waitlisted their passengers, your rebooked itinerary will go
to the bottom of the waitlist, or have an "unable to
confirm" status.
For planned tourist trips to Europe, please lock in your
fares by making the booking at least 2 months before travel,
and ticket it at least 3 weeks before.
Your air ticket is valid for 14 days to 1 year from the
date of departure (not from the date of
ticketing, with few exceptions). There are expiry dates
and travel limitations on restricted fares. But if you know your dates, nothing is
lost from ticketing as early as possible. We would be
pleased to advise you on this. Fares can increase
exponentially on a full flight, and "sell-ups" (moving from
one economy booking class to another) can be very expensive,
about US$90 per class for long haul.
If the flight is not full, it is possible to ticket and fly on the same day. But it is pushing your luck. Ticketing at the Bandaranaike International Airport itself is improving, but is nowhere near international standards.
Some
embassies
require that the passenger submit a
visa application up to 21 working days prior to travel,
whereas others stamp a visa on the day of the application
(with all times in between).
Schengen visas take about 7-18 working days from the time of
successful submission. If you need to obtain your visa in Delhi or
Bangkok,
please start at least 2 months in advance.
For inbound tourists, the winter tourist "season" in the
country is from November - February. During this time it is
very difficult to obtain a room at beach resorts and ancient
cities. Other times to avoid are the cricket season in
Summer (unless you are visiting for the cricket!), if there
is a visiting team touring the country.
If you are planning to visit major cities in Australia during the peak Southern Hemisphere summer of December/January, you should make payment and ticket at least 4 months in advance. 6 months in advance should guarantee you attractive fares and a good connection.
For outbound tourists, large festivals such
as the Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Sydney, Edinburgh
Festival in Scotland, the Carnaval in Rio, Oktoberfest in Munich, Dragon Boat
Festival in Hong Kong and various Summer Festivals
throughout Europe, cause hotels to fill up and all costs to
skyrocket. Unless you are visiting for the festival / event
itself (in which case a planning timeframe
of 4-6 months is recommended), it is advisable to avoid
these times for sightseeing of these areas. Another factor
could be the large crowds and the escalation of
tourist-related crime.