Third party flight travel agents

cs0rpc

Hi,

I'm currently browsing for return flights to Chile.  There are specific dates I need to travel on.  One thing I have noticed is that booking a Heathrow > Sao Paulo > Santiago flight is generally about £200 cheaper than Heathrow > Santiago, or Paris > Santiago.  The catch is the Heathrow > Sao Paulo > Santiago flight is via third party travel agents (going to airlines direct website pushs fair way up).  Those I have checked have very inconsistent reviews.  Are there any that are actually any good?  These are some of the names:

travelup
Carlton Leisure
Booking.com
Gotogate
BudgetAir
Worldairfares
Mytrip
eDreams
EasyMyTrip
Justfly

Even booking.com had a lot of negative reviews on google.

Thanks,

R.

Wonka_2

Without commenting on the specifics of each 3rd party assuming they tell you the flight details what happens if you book the flights direct with the airline concerned ? Or are they suggesting non-connecting flights in which case is that a risk you want to take irrespective of who they’re booked through ? 

Mrs Wonka flew Heathrow-Santiago last year but had flex of +/-2 days which made a big difference on costs 

cs0rpc

As outlined, I need to fly specific dates.  As mentioned going to airlines websites directly pushes fairs way up.  I'm after a view on the third-parites and whether anyone has had a positive experience.

Caz3121

as well as poor reputations for service, many of the sites you mention do not have live pricing so there is a difference between advertising a price and being able to supply a ticket at that price. You will find reports of those that have made booking requests to subsequently be asked for more money to get the ticket. The ones you mention are unlikely to have any specific deals with the airlines...Expedia and Trailfinders may be ones to look at. Many third parties will discount the airline price by maybe £10-£50 knowing they will likely make that up from their customers in additional fees so may be happy to take a small loss. (and they will of course come up first in searches for cheap tickets) If you are seeing large 'savings' then I would expect they may not be able to fulfil the booking request...you would of course be entitled to any funds  they have taken returned but it may take a few days. 

Westin

There are none on your list that I would ever consider using.

TELLIT01

Be aware that many of the 3rd party companies will look for the cheapest flights which are probably non-refundable and can't be altered in any way.

Voyager2002

As an illustration, Trip.com is supposed to be good and they offer a ten pounds per ticket discount if you buy using their app. I did so, and later needed to change the date of my Easyjet flight. Had I bought it directly from the airline the fee for the date change would have been £49, but because I had to go through Trip the fee became £156. It was cheaper to abandon the flight (no refund, not even taxes) and make a completely new booking.

daveyjp

Many online agents are the electronic version of the 1970s bucket shop, although worse now as at least a bucket shop existed.

Now the agent could be operating from bedroom in Mongolia.

They sell the dream, which can quickly become a nightmare.  Cheap prices mean inconveneince for the passenger, whether this by poor customer service, bait and switch tactics, booking separate and not connecting flights (self transfer being the 'marketing' they use), no flexibility, no back up up if things go wrong, no recourse to UK regulators or laws if you end up out of pocket.

The only search engine I would use for flights is Google flights and then book direct as there really is no need to book with a third party unless you want a package and then I'd use a good local agent.

bagand96

Money can be saved by using online travel agents and I have done so. The key is understanding that you're using an agent and putting a 3rd party between you and the airline.

Often the fares are sold as loss leaders and they  make extra money from add ons (luggage, seats etc where they'll charge extra over the airline's price). However they make most of their money through service charges, as posters above have alluded to.

If there's any cancellations/changes by the airline then you'll have to go through your agent as the airline won't deal with you directly. This can add complications, and cost if the agent charges admin fees.

As long as people understand this there can be savings. I've done it a few times, with agents that people on these boards would definitely advise against. Personally I've mitigated it by only doing with simple itineraries that I'm confident won't change, and not too far in the future.

You pay's your money you take's your choice! 

Westin

In addition to those points highlighted by @bagand96, another thing to watch out for is the growing trend to advertise a specially discounted ‘Prime’ fare which many will pick without reading the attached terms of that fare. It might be £10-£30 cheaper but you then are subscribed to a type of membership with annual fees around £70.  Opodo, eDreams - looking at you…

agbero

It's like anything, you want to make changes afterward - you're gonna pay for it, unless you mitigate it by paying upfront for an enhanced fair.  I typically use the agents all the time UNLESS their is very little difference between the airline price and agent price, but, once I book, I never make changes - as @bagand96 says - those agents seem to offer discounted fairs because those discounts are paid for by others who pay a premium for changes after booking.  The other point to watch out for is the agents also charge more for checked-in luggage - I guess people just assume if you buy your ticket through the agent, buying checked in luggage will be same price - it's not, go book your luggage through the airline, even if you bought your ticket through the agent.