Confirmed and paid flight

russdcycle

Hi
i have booked a return flight to toronto june 2023 via an online booking agent and paid the full amount. They have issued a booking reference for american airlines which does show our booking but states it has been transferred to BA. This reference also checks out as being booked with our name. My querie is on the American airlines site it states to contact the agent and pay for this booking? i have asked the agent for tickets but they say they are not issued until 30 days prior to flight.My question is have i really got a confirmed flight at this stage? Can the price change as i have no ticket yet. Is it taken that the agent doesnt buy my tickets until near the date. I am having doubts with the agent as they wanted extra money to start with for baggage which i didnt want and were aggressive in their tactics. I am considering cancelling my tickets but not sure if i am being paranoid.

Brie

what do the T&Cs say about cancellations?  Will you get a full refund?  (unlikely I suspect) 

I think that some airlines have pushed to have extra money when fuel prices have gone up suddenly but don't know how successful that is.  

Personally I would have booked directly with the airline but perhaps there was a good reason not to.

Caz3121

which online booking agent? (did you research them fully first, there are a lot of truly terrible ones about)
there was a recent one that did this and held onto people's money without paying for tickets and they went into administration leaving people to try claim from credit cards (hopefully you used a credit card) and being left to buy more expensive flights.
re the baggage, many people don't realise that the cheapest fares don't include hold luggage and you need to pay extra

Alan_Bowen

Most airlines now require almost instant ticketing, if they don't issue a ticket straight away, a UK-based agent must issue an ATOL Certificate on the day you make the booking. You did check to make sure the company was UK based, and not just an agent with a co.uk website didn't you?

DullGreyGuy

russdcycle said:

Can the price change as i have no ticket yet. Is it taken that the agent doesnt buy my tickets until near the date.

Who is the agent? What does their website state?

There is at least 1 agent that does a last minute thing which can mean the price goes up notably if their gamble doesn't work out. You get the option of a refund but that isnt necessarily a practical option. If you look at their site properly it is clear but most people are just clicking through and not reading what they are agreeing to. 

NeedSomeHRadvice

DullGreyGuy said:

russdcycle said:

Can the price change as i have no ticket yet. Is it taken that the agent doesnt buy my tickets until near the date.

Who is the agent? What does their website state?

There is at least 1 agent that does a last minute thing which can mean the price goes up notably if their gamble doesn't work out. You get the option of a refund but that isnt necessarily a practical option. If you look at their site properly it is clear but most people are just clicking through and not reading what they are agreeing to. 

it would help if you wrote which this site is.