You can always count on Martin Lewis for helping to save us some cash - he's the Money Saving Expert for a reason. The TV favourite joined Ruth and Eamonn on This Morning earlier this week to discuss travel and how to save money on your family holiday. He said: "The big summer getaway is on. Nearly half the nation will be jetting off over the next few weeks – and some, have already gone."
Nowadays, it's becoming increasingly hard to sit with your holiday companions if you haven't paid extra to do so, but Martin has a hack for that.
Martin revealed how family and friends can avoid paying to sit together on budget flights and said: "Time it right and you can do it for free."
He continued: "Gone are the days where you’re guaranteed to sit next to your friends and family when flying without paying. Instead, airlines now rely on the fear factor to convince you to cough up for allocated seating – passengers worry if they don't pay up, they'll be split up.
"A family of four could easily pay up to £240 extra to guarantee they sit together on return flights."
Well, according to Martin, this can easily be avoided, revealing: "Most airlines (except Ryanair) have said that their seat allocation systems will always try to seat groups on the same booking together.
"So as long as you check in online as early as possible, you will get to sit with the rest of your group – as long as seats are still available.
"Of course there are no guarantees – for that, you'll have to pay. So be ready to pounce on the first check-in times…"
These are the best times to check in online
- British Airways - 24 hours before
- Easyjet - 30 days before
- Emirates - 48 hours before
- Flybe – 36 hours before
- Jet 2 - 28 days before
- Norwegian - 24 hours before
- Thomas Cook - 24 hours before
- Tui - 7 days before
- Virgin - 24 hours before
Martin also used the opportunity to urge holidaymakers to get their hotel even cheaper! He suggested that if you booked using a travel agent or directly with the hotel to check to see if the price is now cheaper.
If it is - and you have free cancellation - cancel and immediately rebook. It's a gamble but it could pay off.
Check out plenty more tips on Martin's MoneySavingExpert website.
