Booking Flights Though Online Travel Agents

witsa on 10/09/2023 - 23:04

Lately, it seems flight prices are becoming reasonable again - there's been more than a few OzBdeals posted on there.

It seems that most of these deals are from online travel agents (eg. Beat That Flight). I've never actually booked from an agent before - when I needed a flight in the past, I always prefer booking directly with the airline. I just figure it's hard enough dealing with airlines on my own, it can't be easier doing when there's a middleman involved.

But given it's been a while since I've travelled and these deals look good, I'm willing to maybe try it this time. Just wanted to hear what people's experiences are like?

Do you have to do everything through the agent or do they sell you the tickets and then you deal with the airline from then on? Like if flights are cancelled or changed - do the airlines contact you or is it through the agent website? Or if you need to make a change or request?

Travel

Comments

  • freefall101 on 10/09/2023 - 23:47
    +5

    Beat that flight isn't actually a travel agent, they're just a price comparison site. When you click through often you'll go directly to the airline.

    There is a pile of bad experiences through cheap booking sites though. Basically you take any promises from them with a grain of salt, if you don't need to change anything and your flight flies on time then it's great, otherwise it's a nightmare.

    • witsa on 11/09/2023 - 00:02
      +1

      beat that flight may not be but the deals they have on there will often send you to a travel agent (eg. flightnetwork) to book.

  • apple2016 on 11/09/2023 - 00:03

    Avoid any online agents if possible. Usually their t&c will ensure that they wont be liable for any issues.
    Even if you have booked thru agent, you will still be able to deal directly with the airline for changes etc.

    • FirstWizard on 11/09/2023 - 10:06
      +1

      In my experience, think for most airlines, this is only true if you're within like 72hrs of the flight. Otherwise, they say you need to contact the travel agent you booked with when you call up the airline.

      • apple2016 on 11/09/2023 - 11:34

        maybe you are true, but then its more reasons to avoid travel agent, mainly the online ones.

    • donga100 on 11/09/2023 - 12:01
      +3

      Even if you have booked thru agent, you will still be able to deal directly with the airline for changes etc.

      Definitely not true.
      Source: Managed airline reservations departments for 10 years.

  • capslock on 11/09/2023 - 08:04
    +2

    If you book with an agent, most of the time the airline will refuse speak to you directly, they will tell you to call your agent. The agent is then free to charge you whatever fees they like in order to help you, on top of the fees that the airline is charging. If you want to change dates or times, the agent might even refuse to sell you the lower priced fares and force you to change to higher priced fares.

    Only book with an agent if you are 100% sure that you don't need to make any changes. Or if you are getting a massive discount compared to booking directly with the airline
    or you want to mix and match airlines in the same itinerary which just isn't possible to book directly with the airline .

  • ChrisLevo on 11/09/2023 - 09:28

    I suggest that you go to your local mall/shopping centre if there is a travel agent there.

    If they are, it's because they were good enough to survive a torrid time for that profession.

    Good ones will generally be able to find the best fares and be available to help if you have problems.

    YMMV but that's been my (extensive) experience.

  • stickingly on 11/09/2023 - 09:50
    +2

    They are great and cheap until anything goes wrong or you need to make a change

    I have got Flight Center to match online prices before

    • MrGarciaA on 11/09/2023 - 14:01
      +1

      FC no longer price match and quite frankly aren't worth it if you're savvy enough of a traveller. I went into FC today to see what they could offer for my upcoming plans to go to Europe for me and my gf. After about 30 mins of finding appropriate flights, they quoted me $7,600, which was $200 higher than the price I checked from the airline's direct website ($7,400). Then when I asked if they could price match they said they didn't and I thought for $100 per person extra, it probably wasnt worth it so I gave them the green light. Then they ran into errors and couldnt book the flights and after about 15mins of waiting, they told me that one of the dates I had chosen was no longer available despite them "holding" the price for me.

      So then I had to call my gf while she was at work to which dates we could move around and after that was all settled, they found me another set of flights and quoted me the same $7,600 price for the new dates, which was now $600 more expensive than the airline's website which was now quoting me $7,000 for the new dates!

      When I showed them the airline's directly quoted price ($7,000) and asked if they could price match, they just repeated that they dont price match and when I pushed back and said a $600 difference is too much, they "checked" in with head office and said they were willing to lower their quote to $7,200. Then they said in order to secure that lowered price, I'd have to pay a $50 per person "booking fee" so in reality, I was still paying $300 (or roughly 4.5%) more than the airline's quoted price, and that I had to pay the entire price on the spot (no payment plan, no put on hold for 72 hours etc).

      Then they told me that while we were talking, there had been an internal error on their system end that I had to wait there in the store until it was resolved to finalise everything. So I got too frustrated and told them no deal. Then they started yelling at me for "wasting" their time (about 1hr including all the stuff ups they performed) and that giving them the sale was the "right" thing to do after all that work they did to me.

      I understand the sentiment they must have felt at losing my sale, but from a professional point of view, you never ever yell at a customer and never every guilt trip them for walking away.

      • stickingly on 12/09/2023 - 09:42

        Yeah, last time I used FC was a few years ago…. I just called up, spoke to someone, sent a screencap of the online itinerary and they were happy to match it. Maybe I just got someone having a good day

      • witsa on 12/09/2023 - 19:11
        +2

        Why did you even bother to go to FC for flights in the first place?

        • MrGarciaA on 13/09/2023 - 15:28
          +1

          We were originally having errors booking the tickets we wanted - kept getting error coded by the website and we couldnt figure out why so thought maybe FC wouldn't the same error since they use a different portal to access and purchase flights than the general public do.

          And secondly, we're a bit tight on money atm and while we can purchase our tickets outright as is required when booking directly with the airline, we would have preferred some sort of installement/payment plan and were hoping FC might have something like that.

  • valuer on 12/09/2023 - 10:00

    One of the reasons why an online agent may be cheaper is that they buy the ticket in another country.

    It's a bit of gamble. As others have said, it's all fine if nothing goes wrong but communication might be slow or unhelpful if things go wrong (cancellation, delays, health issues, etc) and charges may apply.

    FC are generally OK if you don't travel often and want to go to something that is easy/regular for them. For example, they might have a package deal to Bali. I've tried and find the folk are generally not very knowledgeable about (my choice of) destinations and were also relying on brokers.

  • beatthatflight on 14/09/2023 - 07:58
    +1

    BTF here - as @freefall101 noted, we just surface the best prices from various online agents. A search engine, for cheap flights, if you will. And hotels.

    However, to your question on OTAs (online travel agencies). Yeah, a lot of the OTAs (online agencies) get poor reviews and it's a shame, as for the most part they're completely fine. They're legit, as in not a 'scam', but…and there's a big BUT….

    When things go right, you book your flight, and you remember that you flew say, AirNZ. You don't usually remember that you booked it via Smartfares, mytrip, gotogate.

    When things go bad (you need to change something, maybe fix your passport that you didn't type in correctly, update a booking etc) and you need to email / call one of these OTAs, you're often dealing with overseas call centers. And that gets annoying/frustrating so you tend to remember the pain. These companies are also often cheaper and make their money by charging for name changes etc.

    So to answer your question - yes, it's legitimate. I've used them myself actually, for well over a decade (I obsessively travelled before having kids, got to 80 countries, a lot of overland travel but my flights were almost always booked through OTAs) and have never had any problems - but then have never had to change a booking with them either so can't speak to that service :) I do however have an outstanding credit through MyTrips for a Qantas credit, and good grief, they're slow to respond to emails. But they do respond.

    Hope that helps.

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