baggage allowance on booking page - will it stand?

stevebootes

I'm looking to book two flights from London Gatwick to Oakland, probably flying with Norwegian.
I know Norwegian have a non-inclusive baggage policy and usually charge in the order of £50 per person each way for hold baggage, adding around £200 to the flight costs. Fair enough, they're cheap to begin with.

However, when looking at booking these flights via agents (I'll use Opodo as an example) the booking page shows the price and specifically says "2 pieces of baggage included for free each way in ticket fare".
I can't see anything in their terms and conditions to counter this so the bargain hunter in me thinks this is a great deal. However, I'm also expecting somewhere to be charged the extra £200.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? I'm half-expecting to have to argue with the Norwegian desk on check-in and pay the extra money, but am I wrong to think if it says baggage is included then it really is?

(Lastminute.com were doing exactly the same thing but have since removed the included baggage from their booking page - since I called and questioned it perhaps!)

Thanks

richardw

Avoid Opodo.

They have so many bad reviews, they simply aren't worth bothering with.

Look at Norwegian's website and do a total cost comparison including luggage and refreshments.

BA are doing flights to SJC, do a comparison on Kayak using LON all airports and SFO and tick the box to included nearby airports.

Btw B787 aircraft are being used in economy on some of these routes, they have narrower seats and this means you are sitting closer to the passenger along side you.

Enterprise_1701C

The allowance will be as it is stated on the ticket/eticket. There will be something in the Ts&Cs saying it can be changed.

stevebootes

Thanks.

Opodo - OK, noted, thanks (it was just the first one I listed) but these sites also quote 2 inclusive bags:
eDreams
TravelUp
Omegaflightstore.com
Tripsta

whereas some others don't.
So the eTicket should show the allowance? I won't see the eTicket until 24-48 hours after I book, if the baggage isn't included I suspect it will be too late to do anything about it? Do I have any comeback if that's the case?

Pollycat

stevebootes wrote: »

Thanks.

Opodo - OK, noted, thanks (it was just the first one I listed) but these sites also quote 2 inclusive bags:
eDreams
TravelUp
Omegaflightstore.com
Tripsta

whereas some others don't.
So the eTicket should show the allowance? I won't see the eTicket until 24-48 hours after I book, if the baggage isn't included I suspect it will be too late to do anything about it? Do I have any comeback if that's the case?

eDreams? :eek:

Look at the airline forum on Tripadvisor and search for 'eDreams' - if you don't run a mile in the opposite direction, you're on the wrong forum here (MoneySaving Expert).

There may be similar comments about the other 3rd party sellers you mention.

stevebootes

All of those search results returned by Kayak - are there any in that list that aren't terrible?

Pollycat

stevebootes wrote: »

All of those search results returned by Kayak - are there any in that list that aren't terrible?

I don't personally know, just going by what I've read.
But I suggest you do this:

Pollycat wrote: »

Look at the airline forum on Tripadvisor and search for 'eDreams' - if you don't run a mile in the opposite direction, you're on the wrong forum here (MoneySaving Expert).

There may be similar comments about the other 3rd party sellers you mention.

for each of the companies you're thinking of using.

Comment from a thread on Tripadvisor yesterday:

If you put "edreams" into the search box just above your post, you will see that there are already thousands of complaints about this web site.

stevebootes

Thanks for the advice, will check TripAdvisor forums. Always difficult to know though, people don't usually post on forums to say "booked flight with xxx and had great service". Is it even worth booking through these 3rd-parties via screenscrapers any more?

Pollycat

stevebootes wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, will check TripAdvisor forums. Always difficult to know though, people don't usually post on forums to say "booked flight with xxx and had great service". Is it even worth booking through these 3rd-parties via screenscrapers any more?

Probably not if you take the advice on TA:

This is classic 3rd party facilitator tactics re price rising, obstacles in your way etc etc..............why didn't you book direct with the airline?
If you were warned about OTB, why did you try to book with them anyway? They do have rather a dubious reputation, well earned by the number of complaints about them on this forum and other platforms.

This is how these 3rd party facilitators work:
Fare is £100 direct with the airline.............OTB draw you in with advertised fare of £90.............you get sucked in with this "massive" saving of £10.............OTB have to pay airline £100 by masquerading as you on airline's website..........OTB then ask you for another £20 so that they can make a profit...........you pay a total of £110, which is £10 more than if you had booked direct with airline, plus a load of hassle now and even more hassle and cost if you need to make any changes to your booking.
These 3rd parties survive because they are able draw enough people in with the non-existent advertised "cheap" fares as the potential prospect of a small saving turns peoples' brains to mush!

Their pricing is not live, that's why they need it later confirm the real price. The real price is what you see on the airlines website. They of course, charge less, because they won't also charge you the on the beach booking fee.

The above are some of the replies to a thread about On the Beach yesterday.

I reiterate - I've never used any of the 3rd party companies you mention.
But I've read enough to be be very wary indeed - especially about the 2 currently under discussion.

jpsartre

stevebootes wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, will check TripAdvisor forums. Always difficult to know though, people don't usually post on forums to say "booked flight with xxx and had great service". Is it even worth booking through these 3rd-parties via screenscrapers any more?

Usually not, plus even if you get a slightly better deal it comes with the downsides of going through a 3rd party. By all means, shop around but the default should be booking directly with the airline. And definitely do not assume that just because a site is listed on Kayak, Skyscanner, etc. it means the site is reputable.

As for your original question, there has been many complaints on TA about paying Opodo/eDreams (they're essentially the same company) for checked luggage only for people to show up at the airport and find it hasn't been booked. Norwegian won't care what your Opodo confirmation says, they'll only care whether luggage is included in their system.

richardw

Kayak is great for comparisons, just make a note of your preferred results and then go to the airline's website to check the price from the horse's mouth.

Norwegian's computer systems have software to prevent any travel agent from booking free checked baggage.