Why is flight booking such a PITA nowadays?!

sarahs999

I've read around the forum and I'm still really mystified. I've not booked flight only trips for some years now, but am trying to book a trip to see family in the States over the Easter break. I know I'm going to pay a premium for travelling in school holidays. I get it. But what I don't get is why all the comparison sites show clickbait prices instead of truthful ones? What is the point? I've spent a fruitless morning on all the usual ones, and have read the advice to go directly to an airline's website, but surely this is a huge step backwards? Why are none of these websites actually showing real prices - surely if one of them did it then we would all flock to that website because who has got time for all this nonsense? All I want to know is what is the best deal I can get at that time of year. 

TELLIT01

It's unlikely that any carrier will break ranks over the way they show prices.  The result is more likely to be a lack of activity on their website if the first thing people see is prices way above other carriers.  There are so many variables in pricing these days too that it's very difficult to show the 'real' price.  Baggage allowance, seat allocation, meals on the flight etc are all add-ons to the base price.

Westin

I expect it is because the vast majority look purely at price.  Those displaying the cheapest price get the interest (and the click thru).  Even the airlines now seem to offer Basic pricing to ensure they appear higher up rankings and have a cheap base price that catches the eye.   We have all kind of encouraged this and this is now the outcome.

Skyscanner.net and similar are good for researching but you have to be cautious of some of the (paid) OTA results.  

Perhaps try one one of the more reputable flight agents and price up directly on their website.   Netflights.com is U.K. based, part of the Dnata/Emirates group. I have used them several times before for flights to the USA and found them good.  Another option would be Expedia.

comeandgo

I would only look on flight agents or skyscanner to see which air carriers are showing as cheapest and go direct to that airlines web and book direct.  

Ngozi

Same as comeandgo, I use sites to see who runs the routes and what dates, or browse by month for a rough price guide.
What price would you like them to show, the one that includes baggage or without, seat reservations within the price or without, what seats, extra leg room, near the exit, flights that offer cancellation or don't, economy or premium economy which seem to get lumped together, etc...

There is so many paremeters these days, especially with the budget airlines that it would be hard to show the real price.
Not to mention, Airlines probably have to give something to search sites if a flight is booked via them so they will want you to book direct though them so may be giving bogus figures to the comparison sites? Im just speculating on he last part. 

maisie_cat

Do you want to put up with spending hours trawling for the cheapest price or go to a travel agent and pay them to do it?

jpsartre

sarahs999 said:

But what I don't get is why all the comparison sites show clickbait prices instead of truthful ones?

What comparison sites are you talking about? Sites like ITA Matrix will almost always show real-life prices (and won't refer you to dodgy 3rd party sites either). I have no idea why you think booking direct from the airline is a "huge step backwards".

Pollycat

sarahs999 said:

I've read around the forum and I'm still really mystified. I've not booked flight only trips for some years now, but am trying to book a trip to see family in the States over the Easter break. I know I'm going to pay a premium for travelling in school holidays. I get it. But what I don't get is why all the comparison sites show clickbait prices instead of truthful ones? What is the point? I've spent a fruitless morning on all the usual ones, and have read the advice to go directly to an airline's website, but surely this is a huge step backwards? Why are none of these websites actually showing real prices - surely if one of them did it then we would all flock to that website because who has got time for all this nonsense? All I want to know is what is the best deal I can get at that time of year. 

Because that's how they suck people who believe those 'clickbait prices' into booking with them.

And then you find out that if you do want to make a change to your booking - if it's at all possible because they'll have booked you the cheapest flight which will often be non-flexible & non-refundable - not only do you have to pay the airline's amendment charge, you have to pay their amendment charge too.

onwards&upwards

maisie_cat said:

Do you want to put up with spending hours trawling for the cheapest price or go to a travel agent and pay them to do it?

Definitely the first one.  It never takes hours anyway. 

cubegame

This is what you get when you rely on sites like Skyscanner. Google flights (or the underlying ITA matrix) doesn't play any tricks.

And only a mad fool would book with an agent rather than direct with an airline.

Westin

cubegame said:

This is what you get when you rely on sites like Skyscanner. Google flights (or the underlying ITA matrix) doesn't play any tricks.

And only a mad fool would book with an agent rather than direct with an airline.

I do think it depends on the agent. It is unfair to tar all with the same brush.

A few online travel agents are U.K. based and can have access to some very good fares.  You do however need read the fare conditions as many will be non-refundable and have high penalties if you wish to amend.  

Other OTA’s, some of the ones which seem to often have multiple complaints against them, are overseas based.  Very difficult to get recourse if things go wrong. Sadly many chase and court these overseas based agents because they offer the draw of the cheapest price.  These same people are often however the ones complaining on internet forums that they could not get a refund on the non-refundable ticket that they bought, or there was no flexibility on changing the flights after booking, or that amending the spelling of their name was either not possible or came with a high fee after they booked using their nick-name, abbreviated name, or just spelt it wrong.

I don’t believe travel agents are bad people  and not all online agents are bad.  

Like anything, pick wisely who you give your money to.  Seek value by all means, some research on who you are giving money to, pick and buy what you need and what suits you, don’t buy purely on “cheap”.  

Travel wise and safe.