How much extra-curricular research do you do when booking airfares? By paying attention to news, you can alleviate any heartaches down the road.

            For example, my flight to Thailand was on Qatar Airways. While all appears well with Qatar, which recently was named, World’s Best Airline, geopolitics threatens the airline.

            In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain led a blockade of Qatar because they accused the Gulf State of financing Islamic extremists in the region. This blockade means no access from Qatar to the three countries by land, sea, or air.

            It also means that airlines registered in Qatar, such as Qatar Airways, are not allowed in Saudi or Emirati airspace. They are allowed two routes in Bahraini airspace because Bahrain’s airspace starts in front of Qatar.

            This forces Qatar Airways to fly their planes over Iranian airspace.

            Recent developments in which America’s amateur president has chosen Iran as his focus on the month (it changes all the time), this has led to a no-fly notice by the American Federal Aviation Association. However, Qatar Airways has no choice but to ignore the warning.

            Add to this the fact that Pakistani airspace remains closed after they and India were on the brink of war earlier this year and Qatar really has very few options for the start and end of their flights into and out of Doha Hamad Airport.

Unhappy unions mean strikes

            Another consideration is for the labour situation at airlines. Today’s early signs of labour unrest are tomorrow’s strikes.

            I always double check the latest news developments on airlines’ labour news. The last thing you want is to find out the airline staff is on strike just as you are about to travel. It means headaches as you try to sort out alternative arrangements for your travel plans.

            On my flights, I didn’t need to check this information because Scandinavian Air Service (Manchester to Stockholm) recently ended a strike last month so I knew it would be highly unlikely there would be another strike. I also knew that Qatar Airways does not allow its staff to unionise.

How financially healthy is your airline of choice?

            In the past year alone, Monarch (UK), Wow Air (Iceland), Jet Airways (India), and Primera (Denmark) have all shut down operations.

            The toughest part is that you have no recourse for refund if an airline goes out of business. If you are on your holiday, then you either have to hope your government will charter flights to repatriate stranded passengers or other airlines are in a generous mood to offer you discounted fares. Otherwise, you will fork over a lot of money for a new ticket home.

            A quick Google News search will help you find out these types of information before you book your flights. A little extra planning now means a seamless experience when you travel. Well, other than the usual delays on the day of travel.