I applaud the updated information. The one thing about planning that I think many people miss is that you need to calculate flight times and layovers into the equation, not just low price. Some of these "low cost" flights are low cost because they arrive/depart at awful times, or have nearly impossible layovers in places. Arriving at 12:30 AM (midnight) in a new city can be tough. Some cities impose higher taxi rates to leave the airport in the evening, hotels may have reduced staff, the likelihood of being taken advantage of is higher. Likewise, arriving at 6 AM is tough as well, because most times your room won't be available for check in and you'll have 6-8 hours of lingering around if you don't make arrangements ahead of time. Next, US carriers are required to sell flights with a minimum 30 minute connection time (domestically). Foreign carriers to America aren't required to follow those rules. Therefore, you may be a transit passenger in a country that requires you to clear passport control and your layover is only 45 minutes. The stress of not making a connection and/or having to wait for another flight isn't worth saving $50 in ticket fare. Analyzing the entire route of flight and making sure that your accommodations are covered for your arrival is KEY to booking flights!
Excellent points! My trip to Brazil have me arriving at 8 in the morning. I let the hotel know of my arrival time and hopefully I can check in early. If not, I plan to take a sleeping pill and sleep on the plane. That way I can be refresh when I get there.
