booking QF via 3rd party sites offered via Skyscanner

[bigjobs]

generally I just book via the QF website for our travel needs when travelling with QF. Just looking at sky scanner for some flights to Japan for next year and was thinking of a stopover on the way up (Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong etc), so a different airline might be an option (hence looking at Skyscanner).

the site threw up direct flights on QF that are a couple of hundred bucks cheaper than the same flights on the QF website. When I click the deal it takes me to a third party website where I could book the same QF flights for the cheaper price.

While I do this kind of thing with hotels all the time (booking.com, etc) I've never done it with flights ... are there any pitfalls to these 3rd part websites that are selling QF flights cheaper than QF?

Cheers in advance of replies.

 

[odysseus]

The main pitfall - I'd say tradeoff - is that you have another layer of admin in case of changes. This means if you need to change/cancel, it will almost certainly cost you more than if you booked direct. Also, as they are price driven, they operate with lower margins, which means less support. Again, if you like to contact support staff, you will likely find it slower/harder e.g. via email and/or with limited times/slower response than with all the channels and options you have with Qantas.

On the minor side, many are offshore, so don't need to follow Australian regs. This means some may only add credit card fees right at the last step, and the charge is processed offshore, so you may incur intl credit card fees. Something which is unlikely, but possible on a technical level, due to the way some price, sometimes real-time prices aren't shown, though this is less of a concern if booking for one, or not some fantastic bargain. (In this case though they would contact you with the actual price, and you could cancel at no cost if incorrect.) Lastly, there is the same risk like you have with hotel bookings you make of the provider not passing your booking on, or being shady, but they won't last in business when they've done this so this is pretty rare

In short, if it's a booking you're confident of going ahead with, so the price is worth those trade-offs, then it's probably worth it. If you like to chop and change or just aren't sure, probably better to avoid.

 

[Happy Dude]

google "Bestjet"

 

[bigjobs]

The main pitfall - I'd say tradeoff - is that you have another layer of admin in case of changes. This means if you need to change/cancel, it will almost certainly cost you more than if you booked direct. Also, as they are price driven, they operate with lower margins, which means less support. Again, if you like to contact support staff, you will likely find it slower/harder e.g. via email and/or with limited times/slower response than with all the channels and options you have with Qantas.

On the minor side, many are offshore, so don't need to follow Australian regs. This means some may only add credit card fees right at the last step, and the charge is processed offshore, so you may incur intl credit card fees. Something which is unlikely, but possible on a technical level, due to the way some price, sometimes real-time prices aren't shown, though this is less of a concern if booking for one, or not some fantastic bargain. (In this case though they would contact you with the actual price, and you could cancel at no cost if incorrect.) Lastly, there is the same risk like you have with hotel bookings you make of the provider not passing your booking on, or being shady, but they won't last in business when they've done this so this is pretty rare

In short, if it's a booking you're confident of going ahead with, so the price is worth those trade-offs, then it's probably worth it. If you like to chop and change or just aren't sure, probably better to avoid.

thanks, good food for thought.

 

[bigjobs]

google "Bestjet"

will avoid ... lol.

 

[Aus ATC]

If a relatively simple booking, and unlikely to need to change it, and some "due diligence" is done on the referred agency, then probably OK. We have done so via "Aunt Betty" which is just another front for Flight Centre. In fact, I found the fare via Skyscanner, then went direct to the Aunt Betty web site as we took advantage of a first user promo which gave us an extra $50 off for each booking.

 

[cjd600]

Use it to get QF to price match, if eligible.
They prices matched me to Bestjet

 

[justinbrett]

Didn't a TA go under recently and a bunch of people lost their bookings (and cash)?

I guess it depends how the TA works - if the airline charges you directly you'd be fine (like via expedia) - but if you pay the TA and then they pay the fare, you may or may not lose your booking if they go under.

I'd be hesitant to book through someone I hadn't heard of.

 

[Aus ATC]

Didn't a TA go under recently and a bunch of people lost their bookings (and cash)?

Yep - Bestjet! I was concerned for a friend who I had assisted with a booking (via Skyscanner) thinking they had gone with Bestjet. But fortunately, she had price matched the Bestjet quote with Flight Centre. A great PE Y fare AUS to EUR is still secure!

 

[aussierob]

Look up "Qantas Price Promise"
You can book within the "safety" of the Qantas website
Then grab the cheaper quote for the same trip from Skyscanner using an Australian-operated travel agent and screenshot it (including a date/time on screen on the same calendar day as you've purchased the Qantas fare)
Not only will you get a refund of the difference you'll get 1000 Qantas FF points.
I've done this several times now and never been denied a Price Promise claim
But don't believe the "we'll get back to you in 3 business days" ... try 5 weeks

 

[JohnK]

Some of those online travel agents available via Skyscanner can be troublesome. Some very poor reviews when support is needed.

 

[RichardMEL]

I agree with JohnK. Need to do some research as some of them are a bit dodgy and have poor reputation for following up if there are issues. Some others are backed by large agencies (look up, for example, all the brands Flight Centre(or Fright Centre if you prefer ) operate - you'd be surprised when you then go search on portals like SkyScanner.

I've used one or two of these in the past for simple point to point bookings where the price is quite a deal cheaper but definitely with an eye to the old trick of prices offered suddenly change at the last step type thing (many of these places scrape prices and offer them up but are not real time and do not reflect rel availability, so you can "book" a ticket for a certain fare then find out later Oh they can't do it as the availability has disappeared)

On the whole though, there is no issue with many of these agencies and money can def be saved.. just do research or use an agency that you're comfortable with (for me, I've used Aunt Betty, which is one of those FC brands, without incident a numbr of times).