When booking flights online there are a few things that everyone needs to know. Ordering flights online is, on the whole, the same as making any online purchase although the amount of money people spend is often greater. Due to the large sum of money involved some people can become flustered, so it may be of some help if the process is broken down into a few straightforward stages.

1) Visit a travel comparison site for ease and the best deals

The first thing to do will be to visit a travel price comparison site such as travelsupermarket.com in order to find the best deals available. The best way to find a travel comparison site will be to enter 'travel comparison' into an established search engine such as Google. These sites work in exactly the same way as other comparison sites but are specifically tailored to the travel industry and search through thousands of other travel companies, such as airline companies and travel agents, to find the best results.

Comparison sites are the first point of call for any online travel search because they can search a wider field than any individual possible could. What would take one person hours is done in a couple minutes.

What's more the information is displayed in a straightforward, user-friendly manner so that all of the flights can be compared at a glance. Data can be manipulated in various ways so that flights by a certain company can be explored, or flights can be displayed according to price and so on.

Other websites, such as Cheapflights.co.uk offer last minute flights and also have other services to make things easier, for example a weekly 'deals alert' newsletter that can be signed up for.

2) Make sure that you have all of the details of the flight

Once the flight has been found on a price comparison site the customer is usually redirected to a flight supplier like Flymonarch.co.uk who provide cheap flights to Europe. At this point another, more specific search, can be made.

It is important that the customer has all of the details, most importantly the date of when they want to fly. For the best price it is important to be slightly flexible - selecting a flight going a couple of days earlier or later can make a huge difference to the price.

3) Have your credit card details handy

Flights booked online will need to be paid for with a valid credit or debit card. Many people are anxious about Internet security; however, this has improved so dramatically that there is very little to worry about. There is usually whole range of security checks that will need to be undertaken. It is important that you have your card with you and know the details of your account. Don't delay in making your payments - cheap flights often sell quite quickly (although they are often soon replaced by other equally as good offers).

4) Provide a safe and secure email address

Most online airlines now provide customers with e-tickets rather than send out paper based versions to home addresses. The airline companies will provide many reasons why this is better, such as it being more environmentally friendly, or being more convenient to the customer. Whatever reasons are provided the main reason has to be that it is easier, and requires less manpower, for the company itself. With e-tickets it is important to have an email address that no one else has access too. Care should be taken when booking flights from public computers such as those at work, or in a library perhaps, as these may not be as secure as one thinks. If you're using a web mail application such as Hotmail be sure to uncheck the box that remembers you email address and password.

5) Remember to print off the ticket

Finally, an obvious but crucial point is to remember to print off your ticket - the email you receive from the vendor is receipt, confirmation and the actual ticket itself. The print out has to be shown when checking in: no e-ticket, no flight. It is often disconcerting approaching the desk with just an A4 piece of paper as it doesn't look as official as the old fashioned glossy tickets. However, nowadays this