Traps when you book your travel

What does ‘Protected transfers’, ‘Non-protected transfers’ or ‘Self-transfer flight’ mean?

We want to help you have the best travel experience possible. And we know that saving money on flights is one way to make a happy traveller.

For that reason, when you search for flights, we’ll show you lots of different options to help you get the most value possible. 
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BUT. And it’s a big BUT – which is why we made it big. 
Some of these cheaper options come with risks. That’s why they cost less.

So before you book, we want to help you understand what you’re signing up to.  
Some of this may seem a little complicated, but we’re going to do our best to explain.

PROTECTED TRANSFERS

Sometimes the website show you options where it takes more than one flight to get to your destination.

Let’s say you’re flying Stockholm  to Gran Canaria. And you find the cheapest way to get there is to fly from Stockholm to London, and then transfer to another flight from London to 
Gran Canaria. 
Most of the time, the two flights will be on the same flight ticket. Yep, even if they’re operated by different airlines. It’s rather nicely called an "airline alliance."

And this is a protected transfer.

The easy way to tell if the flights are on the same flight ticket.

There is only one booking reference for both flights.

A protected transfer means that if a flight is delayed, and you miss a connection, the airlines will find alternative flights for you, and get you to your destination AT NO EXTRA COST.

Because it’s pretty much risk-free, a protected transfer costs more. 

NON-PROTECTED TRANSFERS
 
What’s a non-protected transfer, then?

It means the two flights are NOT on the same ticket. There is no friendly alliance between airlines this time. And you’ll have two booking references.

Most importantly, it means that if you miss your connecting flight for any reason, you will have to buy a whole new ticket. For example:

Let’s say you bought a non-protected transfer for Stockholm to Gran Canaria, with a connecting flight in London. 
If the Stockholm flight is delayed, causing you to miss the flight from London, you will have to fork out for a new ticket from London to Gran Canaria as the transfer was not protected.

The good news is, there are ways to reduce the risks of a non-protected transfer. 
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It’s basically all about leaving yourself lots of time between flights, and knowing in advance about any tricky things that could slow you down when you’re trying to make your connection.

SELF-TRANSFER FLIGHTS


There is another way to book flight connections that aren’t on a shared ticket (so, again, no airline alliance), but offer a bit more protection than non-protected transfers. These are called self-transfer flights.

Self-transfer flights are booked by a travel agent. That means that, although the airlines won't be able to help if your flights get delayed or cancelled, the travel agent will. 
But it can still be some extra costs.

So, as soon as a problem occurs, you must call the travel agent, so they can help you with rebooking the flight or flights.

Remember that even if the travel agent does protect you, it's still a good idea to research and plan for all the potential tricky parts – which are the same tricky parts we listed for non-protected transfers.

And don't forget to plan for any visas you might need.

Here are some of those tricky things:

Let’s look at Stockholm to Gran Canaria, via London, again.

As we said, if the Stockholm flight is delayed, you will have less time to catch the flight from London. 
So the more time you have between the flight from Stockholm landing, and the flight to Gran Canaria taking off, the better.
When you landed in London, you will have to pick up your checked luggage at the baggage carousel, and then check in again for the flight to Gran Canaria.

This could mean waiting a long time for your baggage, followed by a big line at check-in, and then who-knows-how-long going through security screening.

Normally, you have to pass the passport control for the country you arrived in before to catch the carousel. 
So you must know if you need visa to enter the country or if there is any special requirements like PCR test to enter the  country.

Not only that, but the flight to Gran Canaria might be from a different terminal. Depending on the airport, this could mean having to wait for a shuttle to that other terminal.
In rare cases, the next flight could even be from a completely different London airport. London’s airports are very far apart; you might be looking at more than two hours to get from one to another.

In some countries, even though you won’t be leaving the airport, you will need a visa or a transit visa. 
That might mean you need to organize a visa well in advance, before you board any of the planes. 
Or it might mean joining yet another line once at that country’s airport, in order to get a transit stamp.

Also: airlines have different baggage rules. You’ll need to make sure your hand luggage and your checked luggage comply with both airlines.

Now, here is the REALLY IMPORTANT part.

Because the transfer is not protected, it's a good idea to find out all this information yourself. 
The airlines don’t have an alliance this time, so they won’t be able to help. 
We want you to have the best time possible, so it's a good idea to look into the extra information about the flights, transfers or airports before you book.

Try researching the airports, their terminals, and how to get between them. 
We’d also recommend going to the airports’ websites, and researching things like public transportation and taxi costs.
 You’ll also need to think about how long you’ll need to get from one flight to the other. 
The best way is to plan for a worst-case scenario (i.e., build in lots of time for waiting and lines).

Don’t forget to research the baggage rules of all the airlines you’re flying with and do some research on the visa situation.

Hopefully this will help you balance the risks, plan properly to reduce those risks, and point you in the right direction!

HERE’S A QUICK RECAP:

Protected transfers
One booking reference
Friendly airline alliance
Anything goes wrong, the airlines help at no extra cost
 
Non-protected transfers
Each flight has its own booking reference
The airlines do not have a friendly alliance
Anything goes wrong, you’ll have to pay for one or more new tickets
 

Self-transfer flights
Each flight has its own booking reference
The airlines do not have a friendly alliance
A travel agent will assist you if anything goes wrong
HOWEVER, different travel agents offer different levels of assistance on different trips
If anything isn't clear, please give us a shout through the little “Contact Us” button down there, and we'll be happy to explain these points in more detail. Happy travels!

Contact us

If you're travelling with luggage, there are some things to consider.

With protected transfer, you only pay for the luggage on time and the luggage is checked to your final destination.

With the 2 other transfers you have to buy and pay luggage for each flight and it only checked to the destination in the ticket.

And if you compare the prices, it is not always the best way to buy the cheapest ticket. 
​If the flight is not a direct flight it will take  longer time, and you take a risk.

An airline ticket is a  contract that they should take you from point A to point B.   
So if the flight is cancelled  they offer you a  new  flight, but it can  be  next day ,
and  the airline  provide  you hotel  without extra cost.

So its very important to have a  good  travel insurance if something happens that destroy you  plans.

We can provide  you with  the  best insurances  .

And when  you  book  you  can also  buy different  levels of support help.

Here is a real example that show that it can  be  better  to  always  contact  a  travel consultant or adviser.
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This  information  of the  prices is  real  but  the  prices  is  from 14th of January  so  the  prices can  be  different now.

Let's look at this price 22 January to 02 February Stockholm - Las Palmas and return.

As you see, the price is only for the airline without luggage.

And there is overnight both ways.

Let's add luggage and hotels to this trip. (the cheapest hotels at the airport.​
​

If the customer had called to me, this is what I had offered.

The price inclusive checked luggage is 3243 SEK

I offer a ticket that is total 64 SEK (6EUR) more  expensive, and it will be 26 hours more in destination, and the most important more save trip without risks.   But of course I can book the other alternative if the customer wants that.

​I hope you learned something from this case.

Travel consultants give you often the best solution