Who do you book with?

[c814875]

Same as the rest - use skyscanner/expedia/kayak etc portals to compare and then shop directly at the airline sites.

 

[RAM]

I have had a quick look at the Qantas website, which shows fares of around $2800 to $2900 at that time (and a fair bit more before Christmas). As noted above, if you want to fly Qantas it is best to book through the Qantas website. As Markis10 points out, there are a lot of cheaper airlines than Qantas. Check the various sites, note the prices, then have a look at the airline sites.

Yesterday Etihad and others were for below $2400.

 

[RAM]

When I needed to use an agent, I used to use Qantas Travel until they shut down. Then I went to Flight Center (better then some of the other travel agent options in North Canberra). It really depends on which agent you deal with. I've had some shocking agents and some really good ones.
The current agent I deal with is so popular that she only takes appointments.
Some of the others I've dealt with wouldn't know 1100 from 2300.

When I went to the nearest Flight Center branch last year to book a DAS13 and extra short flights for the connecting DONE3, she was quite surprised and impressed that I had everything (flights, availability, required fare classes, etc) all ready and she just had to enter them into their system and get the price.


There have been times when I've found better flights for my parents holidays then their agent has. A few years ago, before they found their current agent, they were on a RTW trip and were traveling DUB-JFK. Their agent wanted to send them back via AMS. Mum doesn't like flying and refuses to spend more then 8 hours in a plane at a time such that their trip last year to southern Europe routed CBR-MEL-KUL-DXB-FCO out and DXB-BKK-SYD on the way back with stops in DXB and south east Asia (until they started booking Business...), so you can imange her response to the agent when I looked up the airlines and available flights for their RTW and told them there was a non stop direct DUB-JFK flight valid for their RTW ticket.

As long as there are plenty seat available, I ring a couple of TAs and then email them the exact details (sourced from matrix) and give them 20 minutes to come back with best price. I give them a ball park for them to beat and sometimes they come back (Eur Rtns) $50-280 better (range over last decade), other times no contest. But does hurt to try (especially as there are 5 of us).

If seats are scarce and you've done the homework then nothing wrong with booking direct, emphasis on "have done the research".

 

[aussiejohn]

When checking various websites for pricing, it pays to clear your cookies each time when you exit the site. Always wondered why the price had increased next time I went back to the site, when I was doing some price comparisons. One of my IT friends cleared up that little mystery for me.

Domain name site Godaddy does the same thing. If you don't buy the name at the bargain price the first time, it is dearer the second time you look. Soon fixed that problem!!

 

[Valerie Moffat]

I usually do my bookings with Qantas myself. I am a member of both Qantas Club and Qantas Flyer, and I can talk to a Qantas person and if I have problems of any kind.
Valerie Moffat

 

[coco50]

I never use any of the search engines. I always book with the airline (usually Qantas) There are factors other than price that are important such as FF SC and points, lounge access, safety for example. I also discuss this with my travel agent Maria from Escape Travel, who, in my opinion, is a "booking genius"!

 

[cleaninglady]

Oh and here on AFF we have a saying, friends don't let friends use FC.

Can someone tell me why I shouldn't use FC if I know the flight I want? (never booked travel B4) I think that redeeming CBA awards points for FC gift cards will get the best value for my CBA awards points rather than turning them into $$ or QFF points. therefore I was intending to use FC in the next few months....(flights only)

 

[bertair]

I have used FC in the past with a reasonable fare, but as I travel more,learn more, one usually picks up tips.Now I give them a miss.
BTW ACCC has fined FC heavily for breaching Australian consumer law.
A mate who has used the US site,Airfast says he has found their tickets for flights anywhere, cruises and hotels generally much cheaper than any Australian airline or booking agency when used.
Has any FF member used this site and what have been the results ?
I used Travelocity a few years ago and was happy with the prices for Business Class flights with BA, but hotel prices seemed to be much higher when booked through them.
It is amazing how much hotel prices vary from booking site to site and the hotel direct.
The prices of seats on flights are so variable, even for the same flight, it has become more of a lucky dip these days to get a good fare or in the case of using FF points, the number required can also vary on the same flight and same class..

 

[AndreiS]

Interestingly today I was able to book a virgin flight on Webjet that was nearly half the price of going direct with Virgin even after the Webjet charges. Same flight number but the cheaper ticket type was "sold out" on the Virgin site. Flight is for tomorrow.

 

[Wannabee]

I generally book directly with Qantas.

Occasionally I have used Expedia if they have been cheaper or I wanted a specific routing I could not get on Qantas.

I was trying to book a one way IST-DXB-SYD (in J) but was not possible on QF website ( I wanted QF flight numbers on EK metal) for SC purposes.
Found flights on Expedia (IST-DXB-MEL-SYD was only $6 more expensive than without MEL in the booking and flights in QF code share were same price as EK anyway) but never used them before so tried our local travel agent. All was going well until they went to book and was going to incur fees as they were booking an origin not Australia, allegedly.

Anyway, gave QF a call and the booked the same as above, for the same price and waived the phone booking fee as I couldn't book it online.

Can't complain about QF with my experience.

 

[Austashes]

It seems that you are targeting QANTAS because of the baggage allowance - have you thought of booking with a cheaper fare and paying for the additional baggage allowance? ... They may not even charge you for the extra or give you a deal if you negotiate before hand!

 

[YSSY]

In some situations it can be beneficial using an online travel agent, particularly with middle eastern and Asian airlines. When you have irrops and issues with these airlines, if you booked directly you may have hassle trying to get flight changes or resolving problems, whereas calling expedia etc could be a whole lot easier. Also some foreign airlines are cheaper to book through an online TA then direct. Finally, some overseas airlines can have some annoying security procedures where they bill your card, then tell you that you have to attend a local office and present the credit card before you can fly and had to be before you arrived at the airport.. (I had this happen once with etihad, I cancelled the booking and took months to get my cash back).
some many variables make it difficult for a single rule of when to use TA or not.

 

[johnhoney]

Love the Golden Rule.

 

[Emjay64]

I have successfully used 3 different fare consolidaters over the past 2 years to fly Business Class to and from USA, domestic in USA and to and from UK. Have any members had similar experiences?

 

[lwcarden]

Hi Fiona, as you want to travel with QANTAS you will pay more than with other airlines. I had an agent who managed to get much better rates than those on line, but unfortunately she is no longer working in the industry. There are a couple of sites which do give you pretty good rates one of these is Alpha Flight Guru - I can't remember the other one but try this and see how you go.

 

[Emjay64]

I have used Alpha Filght Guru successfully. Also, lowbusinessfares.com and firstclassdiscountair.com. I can highly recommend contacting the last two I mentioned.

 

[marki]

Hi Fiona, as you want to travel with QANTAS you will pay more than with other airlines. I had an agent who managed to get much better rates than those on line, but unfortunately she is no longer working in the industry. There are a couple of sites which do give you pretty good rates one of these is Alpha Flight Guru - I can't remember the other one but try this and see how you go.

AFG - Used them today - 2nd time in my life and very happy with experience. Cannot beat the price really. There are cheaper ways but I don't have the time or experience to do it.



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