Booking an airfare or traveling solo? Anyone can make a mistake, even travel pros. Here’s how to avoid erring

Only a rookie flier makes airline booking mistakes, right?

Wrong. It can happen to anyone, even a pro.

Last month, five colleagues heading to a conference in Europe were set to fly to Vienna using different routes because we were from different places. We were to spend a few days sightseeing there before traveling to the conference destination.

We’re experienced travelers — or at least we should be. We’re travel writers. We fly often.

Yet problems befell each of us, causing delays that led to missed sightseeing and unanticipated expenses. Here’s what we learned from our travails, starting with my misadventure.

Case of the missing case

When I started researching flights to Vienna in November for me and my husband, airfares were high, starting about $1,300 round trip for travel in early May. Rates weren’t budging.

I eventually discovered a round-trip ticket from LAX to London for $627. A separate ticket, round trip from London to Vienna, was available for less than $200.

The flights were in the same airline alliance, which I thought was a key safety net. But because I had made two separate ticket purchases, at check-in I was informed that my bag could not be checked through to Vienna. I would need to claim my bag at Heathrow and re-check it for the flight to Vienna.

The flight to Heathrow landed on time, and the layover was more than four hours, ample time for the bag to be transferred. But on arrival in Vienna, it never showed up. (The husband’s rolled out promptly.) Instead, my bag decided to sightsee in London without me.

And here’s the thing that really stung: The same thing happened last year on a flight to Germany that went through Heathrow on the same airline.

I filed a missing luggage claim and headed to the hotel. By late the next morning, the airline’s website told me that the luggage had been located and was “in transit,” but nothing more.

The bag was delivered to my Vienna hotel 17 hours after my original flight landed. By then I had been wearing the same clothes for more than 48 hours. As I thought through the chain of events, I realized I was not blameless.

Lessons learned

I had bought this luggage because it fits in a typical overhead bin, so there was no reason for me to check my bag on the outbound trip.

Furthermore, if I really needed to check it on the outbound flight, why didn’t I have a small carry-on with a change of clothes, toiletries, prescription medicine and a spare set of contact lenses? Last-minute packing led to stupid oversights on my part.

It took 4½ hours from the time the bag landed at the Vienna airport until it arrived at my hotel. I could have gone to the airport and picked it up — it was an easy 20-minute train ride — and I would have had the bag sooner.

Case of the broken connection

Two of my associates were headed to Vienna from Denver and had saved money by booking their travel on two different carriers.

Their 5:40 p.m. flight from Denver to London was delayed because of a mechanical problem, so they knew they wouldn’t make their flight to Vienna. They contacted the connecting carrier to change their ticket for a later departure from London.

Alas, their London-Vienna carrier would not bend ticketing rules and imposed a $143 change fee for a later departure.

Their flight from Denver was repeatedly delayed, then canceled. The pair was then booked on a new flight to London, departing (and arriving) 24 hours after their original plans. This necessitated another call to the connecting airline and another change fee.

They each spent $364 on change fees. They also lost the money spent on their first night’s accommodation in Vienna and, more important, their first of less than two days planned for touring the city.

Lessons learned

The initial Denver carrier provided a room at an airport hotel and, with some prodding, a voucher valid for $350 for future travel. That was more than it was required to do. That compensated for out-of-pocket expenses, but it did not replace a day touring Vienna.

The transatlantic carrier was responsible only for getting the pair to London. If they had purchased a through-fare to Vienna, there would have been no cost to change the connecting flight.

They might even have been routed through another European hub that would have them landing in Vienna not much later than originally planned.

When their flight to London was delayed, they could have looked for alternative flights to London or Vienna and asked the carrier to intervene with the second airline, which happened to be a code-share partner.

When traveling on the last (or only) flight of the day on a long-haul journey, even small delays can force an unplanned overnight and delay the start of a vacation.

As soon as delays are announced — even short ones — start researching options.

Case of the churlish change fee

The trip for associate No. 3 started in Frankfurt, Germany. She had purchased a one-way ticket to Vienna, selecting the least expensive ($145) non-refundable fare on a European-based international carrier.

She arrived at the Frankfurt airport at 12:30 p.m., in plenty of time for a flight departing at 2:50 p.m.

After check-in, she proceeded to her gate and found a seat next to an outlet where she could charge her laptop.

At some point, a gate change announcement was made but she didn’t hear it. When she discovered that the gate had changed, she ran to the new one, arriving 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

The airplane doors were closed, and she was not allowed to board.

The gate agent sent her to the airline’s customer service desk. The service rep told her that because she had purchased the lowest nonrefundable fare, the ticket no longer had value and she would have to purchase another.

She paid $395 for her 75-minute substitute flight.

Lessons learned

There is something to be said about not getting too wrapped up in your work. Clearly, the error was hers.

Also, never assume the option in front of you is the only one. Taking a moment to research other flights may have yielded a less expensive flight on another airline.

Remember that the least expensive fares usually have prohibitive restrictions or impose excessive fees for changes or cancellations. When she was researching her flights, she ignored a $210 fare that allowed changes but was $65 more. That up-charge would have been a lot less than the $540 (total) she wound up paying for the journey.

I’m now going to set my phone alarm to alert me to check my surroundings. This way, if I’ve missed a gate change announcement, I’ll know in time to relocate. And if boarding hasn’t started, hinting at a potential flight delay, I can start looking for other flights.

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@latimestravel