Skyscanner and third-party companies

[Nimbus]

If I wasn't so lazy and actually searched the DIBB I'm sure I'd find other threads discussing my questions. But I am lazy, so...

I see Skyscanner lists various thirdparty companies who sell flights. Often these flights are cheaper than direct with the airline. Are there any issues with using these companies? Are they legit? If they go bust, do I lose out? Do I have to deal with them if there are any issues (rather than direct with the airline) and, if so, are there some companies I should avoid?

I notice some of them don't have a particularly high star rating - only 2 or 3 stars. Should I avoid these and only consider 4+ star companies?

BTW, I suppose my question also applies to other thirdparty companies not just those on Skyscanner.

Thanks.

[thatdavieguy]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

If I wasn't so lazy and actually searched the DIBB I'm sure I'd find other threads discussing my questions. But I am lazy, so...

I see Skyscanner lists various thirdparty companies who sell flights. Often these flights are cheaper than direct with the airline. Are there any issues with using these companies? Are they legit? If they go bust, do I lose out? Do I have to deal with them if there are any issues (rather than direct with the airline) and, if so, are there some companies I should avoid?

I notice some of them don't have a particularly high star rating - only 2 or 3 stars. Should I avoid these and only consider 4+ star companies?

BTW, I suppose my question also applies to other thirdparty companies not just those on Skyscanner.

Thanks.

See more...

The companies are legit, i've used some of them myself in the past and had no issues thankfully.

I would think, however, that if you were to book with them and they went bust you could find yourself in a sticky situation as you'd be reliant on the company having paid their suppliers before selling them on (see TC issues with hotels getting paid at a later date and folk being asked to pay for example).

At the end of the day there's risk involved in everything

[giggler]

Skyscanner, my nemesis.
I would do some searches to check reliability of the company’s. Some are much more higher rated than others.
Also I find that the price is often much lower than the airline, but doesn’t actually exist, it’s click bait to get you to the website.
it’s a good tool to check rough prices.

[Procrastinator]

Imo...

Larger companies like Expedia or netflights would fine. Random smaller companies i would not trust. Not so much in case they go bust, but because of woeful reviews on customer service. If you buy a connecting flight and obe leg gets changed it might be really difficult to sort it out via a 3rd party.

So i would book with the airlines or larger 3rd parties. The smaller ones if very cheap i would type their name and review in to google and see what is out there about them.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Procrastinator

Larger companies like Expedia or netflights would fine. Random smaller companies i would not trust. Not so much in case they go bust, but because of woeful reviews on customer service. If you buy a connecting flight and obe leg gets changed it might be really difficult to sort it out via a 3rd party.

So i would book with the airlines or larger 3rd parties. The smaller ones if very cheap i would type their name and review in to google and see what is out there about them.

See more...

Funny that you should mention Expedia because they get a bad score on Trustpilot - 1.5 out of 5 - and get quite a lot of bad reviews. If anything, many of the random smaller companies get better reviews.

[DisneyCupcake]

Bear in mind that if you have any questions prior to travel you have to go through whoever you booked with e.g. Expedia, Netflights etc. It is very unlikely that the airline would assist unless you had booked direct with them.

In the past I have also found that cheap "fares" advertised on Skyscanner didn't actually exist when I looked further.

[Budmiester]

My personal take on these websites is run away,run fast,run far. Have a look on various forums and you will consistently see plenty of people having problems with them, when you request a flight,yes that’s right you’re not booking a flight you’re “requesting “ one, they offer a tempting price, they take your money then they find that they cannot get your flight at the price offered they come back to you asking for more money. So you either agree to the increase and pay up or refuse and wait months for a refund. Amongst the worst are Kiwi (known for cobbling single unconnected flights together and passing them off as connected returns) Opodo who were okay until bought out by EDreams or more commonly known as ENightmares.
Some of the websites are okay such as Expedia but when you book through an OTA you are inserting another layer of t&c’s to your booking and should you need to make any changes you invariably end up paying two sets of fees,one for the Airline and one for the OTA.

[snowbelle]

Please bear in mind that some review site 'buy' blocks of review and sometimes slip up and haven't filtered them out as you will get a review for a totally different product.

I am currently in dispute with a company (not travel related )and their reviews were good but on digging deeper I found a whole loads of poor reviews, some that looked very suspiciously like the persons family or friends putting good reviews up.

My personal view in the wake of the TC issue I would go straight to the airline , but I understand for many customers the difference in cost means they go or don't go.

[captain-codeye]

I am sure lots of people have had a great experience and got exactly what they booked for a price they were happy with.

I would never risk it, only book direct with the airline using a credit card.

From reading the small print of some of the cheaper agents it seems you are only buying a service to get you from a to b, they are within their rights to move flights, change to indirect etc as long as they get you from a to b in a reasonable time scale! Not for me thanks

[giggler]

If you do use an agent, make sure you get booking reference for the airline. At least that way you can check your booking on the airline website.
Thousands of people use these travel agents, so don’t be put off.
Just do your research.