Beware Booking Flight Online

[dee123]

all today i have been trying to contact the company which sold me my airline tickets,and after seeing bbc watchdog program i am even more worried.i did finally manage to negotiate with someone who had my flight info but that was only after i threatend to appear at their offices the next day.i first looked at onlinetravel.com where they give you a price,it says abta atol so you think it will be o.k.but in fact they pass you on to other companys like travelocity. com who do your booking. i had already been told of errors on their behalf so i had to wait a couple of days more , i received E tickets but not everyones as i had originally booked and the indian call centres do not answer your calls .i still have not received the infants E number or paper ticket they originally said was in the post,now they say go to sky diamond desk when i get to heathrow and pick it up there.but they have not given me any number or conformation that i should do this.....the company featured in watchdog was called MAS travel who have gone bust and fled to pakistan!...........any similar stories ?

[britmaveric]

Normally only use reputable sites.... seems a bit dodgey otherwise.

[dee123]

i started with cheapflights.co.uk its the first one you come across on google but somewhere along the line you end up without no recourse to find where your missing ticket after spending loads of money on 0870 numbers answered by computers and indian call centres who put you on hold for 20 minutes before the phone goes dead! the email no they give you is sent back.and the lady i bought it from has not answered the phone and says its now in someone elses hands.....ive tried phoning thai airlines they have been busy all day that too is a 0870 costing more money.

[the scouser]

Moved to the travel forum.

Scouse.

[Jamie]

I prefer just using the airline website that services the place you want to go. In every search I have done, the airline is always cheaper than other travel booking sites. Their vacation packages are also cheaper.

[erikr_]

I prefer just using the airline website that services the place you want to go. In every search I have done, the airline is always cheaper than other travel booking sites. Their vacation packages are also cheaper.

travelocity, expedia, opodo and ebookers are ok, all the ones where you have to call to make the booking or to hear the price I would stay away from. They lure you in with low prices that they most of the times can't offer anyway.

So far i have never had any other beat the price of the 4 I mentioned.

[endure]

travelselect, lastminute and airlinenetwork are also pretty good.

[dee123]

erikr said travelocity were quite good but eric thats the company i have been dealing with not online but by phone as it was not my credit card being used.and its they if you have any sort of problem fob you off with indian call centres.

[PhilHarries]

I never use on line booking. Flying from the UK I always use Trailfinders and they have always beaten Travelocity and Expedia hands down for flights (never book packages) but I've never used Opodo. Trailfinders have a website from where you can e mail an enquiry but the actual booking and paying is done over the phone, no computers and no Indian/Philippino call centers.

Elsewhere, like here in KL, I just use a travel agent. Sure it costs a little more but, in the overall scheme of things, it's peanuts.

[sumrit]

I've used Airline Warehouse from Birmingham for years now. I can book over the phone or on line (10% reduction on line) and check my booking on line at any time. Also, with living in Thailand I can book a return ticket from Bangkok to the UK online with them. With all the other travel agents I have checked out if you book on line the outward journey must be from the UK and you have to book over the phone to get the outward journey from Bangkok. Looking at the airline web sights (etihad, emirates,etc) they seem quite competative as well now if you book on line.

[rak sa_ngop]

I've used Airline Warehouse from Birmingham for years now. I can book over the phone or on line (10% reduction on line) and check my booking on line at any time. Also, with living in Thailand I can book a return ticket from Bangkok to the UK online with them. With all the other travel agents I have checked out if you book on line the outward journey must be from the UK and you have to book over the phone to get the outward journey from Bangkok. Looking at the airline web sights (etihad, emirates,etc) they seem quite competative as well now if you book on line.

Based on my experience trying to book Etihad directly a few months ago, the on-line price BKK-LGW-BKK was about 1000 baht more expensive than my Khao San Road ticket agent. But this will obviously depend on your local agent.

[dee123]

travelocity.co.uk were the company i have had problems with not travelocity.com as i mistakenly said.

[roamer]

There are good reliable sites, many of which have been mentioned above. But if you are going to book over the net the important thing is ALWAYS use a credit card, NOT a debit card. Its cheaper to use a debit card as you avoid the surcharge of around 1% but then you also lose the protection of your credit card which guarantees your money back regardless of how the loss comes about.

[dee123]

yes thankfully a credit/card was used ,everything might be ok. but its worring when the itinary quotes 7 passengers when there is only 5 and 1 infant. and many other mistakes.

[roamer]

Big difference with someone like MAS no doubt atol registered for only certain flights and Travelocity one of the big operators, your probably suffering a little cos your worried and then not getting the 100% efficiency when your trying to call the shots. If I was you I would try not to sweat it and I'm sure it will come around, mistakes usually get sorted, outright fraud which it seems is what the Watchdog story was about is much less common.

[erikr_]

erikr said travelocity were quite good but eric thats the company i have been dealing with not online but by phone as it was not my credit card being used.and its they if you have any sort of problem fob you off with indian call centres.

In general it is a reliable company, did you book through their website? or did you book via another site (as I understood from your post)

[Greenside]

I've always found for long haul flights that the best way is to check the travel section of a national UK paper, call eBookers, Travel Bag and any others that look promising and finally end up at Trailfinders who will almost always come up with the best deal and are 100% reliable. Last trip: LHR - BKK via Amman with the return valid for 12 months (changable @ £25) for a very reasonable £365.

Short haul and budget airlines - online but always with a credit (not debit) card.

And don't forget to sign up for the weekly TravelZoo list of deals - fun to dream, even if you can't take those last minute bargains.

Hope everything turns out OK for you.

[dee123]

yeah,booked through travelocity.co.uk .....put in dates ,airline ,how many people travelling etc.....came back with a really good price,...so i phoned said...i have not got credit card to do online booking,so she said...get someone with credit card to phone and pay that way....ok....now the prices are very reasonable qouted are these the prices i will get ,she checked then said well thats strange it isnt the price ive got showing here,.....so how much extra is that i said......she said about another 50 quid .,well, i think they must be going up as we speak.i said.......and it says here no charge for the infant under two years of age ,could you check thats correct i said......,she replied thats what i have got as well.......o.k. i said i'll book them....do you want me to hold them for you she said .....yes i said.... and we done the credit card details 10 minutes later.....she said its all booked now and you will receive E TICKETS in your email in 48 hours, ill just run through the details names and flight times with you to make sure everything is correct.......and so it was .but the fourty eight hors later E TICKETS arrived by email but with 7 passengers and only 3 peoples names

[dee123]

.....cont.....and there were only five of us and one infant......then i receive a message on my answerphone to ring the agent ......she said .....oh a bit of a problem,the infants ticket is chargeable and tax has to be paid on that,it a system error..... well you assured me that was the final price i said....i'm not paying any more...wait there i'll just check with the boss,oh its o.k. we will take that overcharge she replied,dont worry its all sorted ......then the infants ticket did not arrive by post as promised so the nightmare of 0870 indian call centres began!

[steve73]

I always find theflight I want on an e-site such as airline-network.com, and then ask a "real" travel agent to quote me the same flight. With just a little bit of haggling, they will usually match the price I've found, or at most within £10-20. I use THG in Swansea - sorry but I can't lay my hands on the direct (i.e. not 0870) phone number, but drop them an e-m via their website (www.thg.co.uk), and they'll get back pretty quick. They can't book the other way around though i.e T/L to London.

Good Luck,

Steve

[dee123]

thanks steve, well i agree with you as for the past 5 years i have been using thg from swansea,and have never had any problems, but it now being all the rage to book online i thought i'd give it a go.well one lives and learns!.....by the way thg usually can be found on teletext 297.... good luck everyone.

[patrickq]

Seems a few references to the scam 0870 numbers have been brought up ... I always use this website to check if there is an alternative:

www.saynoto0870.co.uk

Always buy my tickets from www.westeasttravel.com in Hammersmith, London ... they are trustworthy and helpful ... but they only have an 0870 number! They are consolidators for Thai and usually have best prices for them. I don't think they have online booking yet, but you can place via email I think.