Anyone heard of final-flights.com?

[bjm76]

Hi all

I was updating my LinkedIn profile this morning and there was a link to "cheap flights 40-70% off" and it directed me to www.final-flights.com. Looks too good to be true, does anyone have any experience with this website? Is it a con?

Thanks

 

[yohy?!]

Tickets before you pay and free 'comprehensive' insurance? Not to mention no online booking engine....seems shady to me

 

[Taezar]

I just did a quick ABN search - yes it exists, but the location and the phone numbers don't match. If you are based in Eight Mile Plains, why is your fax going to somewhere north of the Sunshine Coast?
Is also a new business. I would be highly dubious as they say they have been doing this for 3 years, yet the company was only registered in March last year. Also, the format of the webpage is template based, vs a custom built - again ringing some bells for me.
Finally, their twitter link suggests that they are @qftravelinsider which would suggest they are part of Qantas, which they obviously aren't given their ABN.
Happy to be proven wrong, but too good to be true IMHO.
Taez

 

[Sifor]

Their "booking form" thing is advertised as being secure... it isn't.

I'd pass.

 

[samh004]

I have a feeling Qantas will be shutting them down very fast, considering the amount of info they’ve ripped directly from Qantas’ site…

Their "booking form" thing is advertised as being secure... it isn't.

I'd pass.

Noticed that too, adding an ’s’ to the http also doesn’t work.

 

[notzac]

Happy to be proven wrong, but too good to be true IMHO.

To add to the disbelief .. their website proclaims them to be a limited company, yet they're registered as a trust. No prizes for guessing whether they're a member of the Travel Compensation Fund, either..

No airline issues a ticket without first extracting payment. No similar business would consider doing same. I absolutely expect to see a first-time poster join in the next few days to tell us how wonderful they are and how much money they saved using them

 

[ryanbryan]

And "Jet Star"....?

 

[anat0l]

Oh this had better not be that "scam" company again operating out of the Gold Coast (phone number suggests the location).

There's been threads about said company on this forum. All have been closed, and one member seems to represent or at least say they are all legit.

Whilst I'm saddened that the existence and rise in shysters clouds the efforts of good people trying to earnestly offer good deals for others, I'm going to pass on this one.

 

[Mal]

Wow. What a website. Where do I start with pointing out why I wouldn't trust them? (Some have already been commented on already!).

Domain:
Was only registered 11 days ago to a person located in Western Australia. Not overly bad, but domains that are "fresh" are a warning sign, as is the registration pointing to a different location than their address.

The suburb and postcode doesn't add up:
Admin Address........ Springvale
Admin Address........ 6693

6693 doesn't appear to be a WA postcode, and there is a Springvale-Landsdown road located in Ord River (6700), I can't find the place above.

The street name doesn't appear to be recognised by various sources I've checked.

Website itself:
- No listing for a Travel Agent Registration ID. This could be illegal depending on what they actually provide.
- The various Verisign/Amex/Visa etc logos mean nothing.
- The insurance offered, although through QBE is actually the affiliate ID of Qantas Airways.
- As commented earlier, the SSL certificate is stuffed and the data entered is not secure.

Company:
One listing of their details puts them as:
Final Flights
23 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads, QLD 4567
Sunshine Coast
p: 07 4027 9636 f: 07 4027 9636
Final Flights | 70% off your next flight!

Yet strangely, their "TRUST" (Not company) is registered to 4123.

So they are mistaken about their company status... Hmmm.

I really wonder what the real story is. Phishing site? Scam? Legitimate business that has no clue? Either way, they'll be shut down pretty quick by Qantas and/or possibly Fair Trading Queensland.

PS, a search for a Travel Agent licence in Queensland was a failure: http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/are-you-licensed.htm

 

[Mal]

I absolutely expect to see a first-time poster join in the next few days to tell us how wonderful they are and how much money they saved using them

But, But, But... I did use their website and had an excellent experience. The pages loaded, it talked about flights and overall it was a great experience.

I even saved lots of money from using the website. Instead of buying tickets there, I opted to use the Qantas site directly and ensured that there would be no dramas at all with my purchase!

 

[Misha]

Woop Woop - my shonky senses are in overdrive.

In flight classes section it is a monopoly of Qantas products (including their in-flight magazine) - so why would Virgin Blue be a partner?

Methinks if you even filled out one of their forms out of interest, you will receive plenty of spam over the next few days:

Monday
My Name be Natasha. I am 25 old and very pretty. I am looking for confident businessmans. You are from American States, Avstralia or Unified Kingdoms. You like to buy me presents. I wanting to meet you soon. Pleasse send me tickets and I come to be your wife

Tuesday
Direct from Scandinavia, the Turoform 3000 is an innovative piece of medical equipment that will make your confidence grow 1000%. Through the technique of truncheon aggrandizing, the Turoform 3000 gradually....



Wednesday
You go to bigpond/iinet/whomever and change your email address (after you buy the Turoform 3000 of course!)


Stay away from this site my friends...

 

[Nigelinoz]

According to Google 23 Hastings Street Noosa Heads is an apartment block with apartments for rent at around $6000 a week,funny place to run a business from.
Cheers
N'oz
Penthouse "Twenty-Three Hastings" - 23 Hastings Street, NOOSA HEADS - R&W Noosa Holidays

 

[Mal]

According to Google 23 Hastings Street Noosa Heads is an apartment block with apartments for rent at around $6000 a week,funny place to run a business from.

I dunno, there are plenty of spivs and shonks that live in Noosa Heads! (Closely follows the Gold Coast on my "reputable places of business in Queensland" scale).

Apparently there are a few businesses on the ground floor - A Jeans West (? strange place for one!!), a real estate agent and the leasing office for the apartments.

Any AFF'ers live in Noosa Heads and wants to investigate?

 

[notzac]

(Closely follows the Gold Coast on my "reputable places of business in Queensland" scale).

GOLD!!

[size=-2](with apologies to any AFF members that live in the region.. and yes, pun firmly intended )[/size]

 

[bjm76]

Excellent. I know it had to be waaay too good to be true. And all the Qantas references and logos have obviously just been stolen from the Qantas website. Will be interesting to see how long the website stays around for....

If only the ABC still produced "The Investigators", this would be a great story for Helen Wellings....

 

[BVT]

GOLD!!

[SIZE=-2](with apologies to any AFF members that live in the region.. and yes, pun firmly intended )[/SIZE]

I do live in the region and emphatically endorse the comment!

 

[markis10]

According to Google 23 Hastings Street Noosa Heads is an apartment block with apartments for rent at around $6000 a week,funny place to run a business from.
Cheers
N'oz
Penthouse "Twenty-Three Hastings" - 23 Hastings Street, NOOSA HEADS - R&W Noosa Holidays

It also has businesses running from it's ground floor shops, incl the local Raine and Horne. If that website was a business students assignment I would fail it, the fake domain rego details should be reported.

 

[Mal]

And of course.... "Finalflights .com" (NOT related to the website above), is for people wanting to spread their loved one's ashes from a plane in the U.S...

Think about it. It is "domain name fail". Final-Flights ... Ahuh, so is it the last flight I'd book with them? Or is it the last flight I'd ever be able to take?

 

[Nigelinoz]

Yeah when you think about it it's a rather weird name for a flight booking website,maybe they are suggesting that they should be the last website anyone should use to book a flight rather than the first :!:.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Lee J Collier]

I was also wondering if they're a 'con'. I thought because I found them advertised here through the Linkedin site that they must be legit - but now I'm concerned as it does sound 2 good 2 b true.

Please Advise ASAP. They have sent me a 'booking' with V airlines for this Wednesday for a trip to America.
I'll be ringing V Australia first thing in the morning to see if my Business Class flights are secure and paid for?