Planning guide

A guide for whoever ended up organising this

Most group organisers are volunteers. A parish secretary, a teacher, a bride’s brother, an office manager. This page is the shortest useful version of what we would tell you on a first call.

The timeline that works

Twelve months out — shape only

Destination, approximate dates, and a headcount range. Do not try to be precise. This is enough for us to tell you what the trip will roughly cost per person, which is what you need to announce it.

Nine months — commit to a routing

Choose between the options, pay the deposit, and get the block held. From here you have a fixed per-person number you can publish and a name deadline to work back from.

Six months — open sign-ups properly

Collect passport-exact names from the start. Asking people to re-supply a name because you took it verbally is the most common avoidable delay in the whole process.

Three months — check passports

Many destinations require six months’ validity beyond the travel date. This is the moment to make every traveller physically look at their passport, not assume.

Two months — names in, tickets issued

Send the full list, including special requirements. We read it back, you confirm, we ticket. Everyone gets their own confirmation.

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Departure week — the briefing

Circulate the itinerary, the meeting point and time, the bag allowance, and one phone number for the day. Assume at least one person will not read it.

What to collect from every traveller

Full name exactly as printed on the passport — including middle names, in the passport’s order.
Date of birth — for every traveller including infants.
Passport number, issuing country and expiry date where the route requires it.
Their own email and mobile number — not the organiser’s, so airline notifications reach them directly.
Assistance needs — wheelchair, mobility, oxygen, or anything requiring airline approval.
Dietary requirements where the carrier serves meals.
For minors — who they are travelling with and what consent documentation exists.

When the airline changes something

Schedule changes on a booking months out are routine and most are minor. What matters is whether the change is significant — a large time shift, an added stop, a different airport, a cancelled flight. For flights to, from or within the United States, a cancellation or significant change generally entitles travellers to a refund to the original payment method rather than a voucher, if they do not accept the alternative offered.

For a group, do not have thirty people call the airline separately. Contact us on (855) 817-3532 with the group reference and we will handle it as one case. If you booked elsewhere, that seller has to do it — we cannot service a ticket we did not issue.

What to tell your travellers before departure

The bag allowance for their specific fare, and what an extra bag costs at the airport.
Where and when to meet, and what the plan is if they are late.
That check-in is theirs to do — and the confirmation reference they will need.
One phone number that will be answered on the day.
That entry requirements are each traveller’s own responsibility, however much you have helped.