Direct airline website booking, which airline offers the best prices for you ?

[thailanddogerator]

Hello,

It seems that airlines often offer the best price for flight tickets, but I wonder which airline website is the best for you ?

I quite like Etihad but it's not always the cheapest. (I like to fly gulf airlines more than others because I hope that they won't bomb or rocket their own planes !!!)

Please tell me if you often find a better price on the airline booking system or on search engines (but not Google flight which is an organized robbery).

Thankyouguys<3

[beachproperty]

You forgot to add ....where to? (assuming its from Bangkok?)

Edited November 13, 2015 by beachproperty

[thailanddogerator]

I'd like to know, in general to any EU country and to USA, thank you.

[ezzra]

One should be careful when buying from a general website, as there you get the lowest class ticket

with many restrictions, and half or 25% FF mileage if it is a member airlines of your FF program,

and in the case you want to change or cancel, forget it, it will cost you as much as a new ticket,

and most time you will have to contact the issuing people in some far away country... not worth it...

My advice, to by from the airlines website direct, maybe cost a few dollars more, but you get

a peace of minds...

[kannot]

i fly emirates, but prices from thailand to the uk are way too high, much cheaper uk to thai. i fly to birmingham but if i fly to manchester its £700 less on a business class flight, they have a 70 mile chauffeur drive car so i get them to drop me 10 miles from home where a friend picks me up

[BudRight]

Hopper. (iOS and Android)

[beachproperty]

to US ....China Airlines....Business Class ...$2500

[sandyf]

I usually use skyscanner to see which airlines are running the best price and then check the airline website.

Earlier this year I deviated and booked with an agent, Opodo, so I could pay by UK credit card, big mistake. BA cancelled the flight and Opodo would not deal with the refund. Had I booked direct with BA it would have not been a problem. I had to take Opodo and BA to court to get my money back.

[KittenKong]

Earlier this year I deviated and booked with an agent, Opodo, so I could pay by UK credit card, big mistake. BA cancelled the flight and Opodo would not deal with the refund. Had I booked direct with BA it would have not been a problem. I had to take Opodo and BA to court to get my money back.

? The whole point of paying by UK credit card is the charge-back facility that they offer and the section 75 protection that makes the card issuer jointly liable with the vendor.

If you dont get what you pay for the card issuer MUST refund you itself, and in my experience they always do. Up to them how they deal with the vendor afterwards.

Even using a UK debit card still gives you the charge-back protection, though Visa is better at this than MC is.

[KittenKong]

i fly emirates, but prices from thailand to the uk are way too high, much cheaper uk to thai. i fly to birmingham but if i fly to manchester its £700 less on a business class flight,....

I find that this depends on the airline. Several are the same price regardless of which end you start from, and some are actually cheaper when starting from BKK.

[BB24]

I always book direct with the airline, after checking booking sites like Expedia, Lastminute, Skyscanner, Tripadviser, Webjet etc. for the best available airline flights/prices. The problem with those sites is that they are not accountable for when things go wrong - like a cancelled flight. If you read their fine print, you will see that they are merely acting as a 'booking agent' and take no responsibility for the outcome - you may as well do it yourself. However, having said that, I usually use the booking sites for Hotels - the prices are either the same or sometimes lower than direct, and they rarely move or cancel a room

Have been flying around for years I found that there is no single 'best' site or option to use. Sometimes a site or airline will offer specials - and 6 months later they are the most expensive for the same location. You have to just check them all each time if you want the best deal. One tip: get an additional gmail address and join all the booking sites and also join any airline you fly. What that will get you is a lot of khrapp emails, but also the occasional gem deal you can take up. After a while your email address will have been passed on to many many other 'affiliated' organisations - once the emails from them become too much, close the gmail account and get another 'throw away' email address - remember to change to the new one on the booking sites and airlines you want to use.

[dundas]

It's always worth looking at the agents' sites. On once occasion I used a well known agent to get a return from Chiang Mai to Osaka on Dragonair/CX that was only available on the CX website if I paid a multiple of the agent's price.

It's also worth exploring the airlines' own pages. For instance, out of Australia, Thai offers one price - normally a quite expensive price - if you use the booking form on its home page, but it often has a cheaper price for the same fare class, if you click on "Plan my trip" (top left of the home page screen). The "Special Promotions link will then appear, normally with a range of promotions - that's if Thai is having a special promotion at the time. The booking form that you access this way will give you a price a couple of hundred dollars cheaper for the same fare class.

Edited November 14, 2015 by dundas

[thailanddogerator]

Smart reply, haven't you read that buying directly form airline is what I am talking about ? And I do not ask an opinion, I am asking on WHICH AIRLINE WEBSITE do people are used to buy. Than kyou.

One should be careful when buying from a general website, as there you get the lowest class ticket

with many restrictions, and half or 25% FF mileage if it is a member airlines of your FF program,

and in the case you want to change or cancel, forget it, it will cost you as much as a new ticket,

and most time you will have to contact the issuing people in some far away country... not worth it...

My advice, to by from the airlines website direct, maybe cost a few dollars more, but you get

a peace of minds...

[thailanddogerator]

Why your story seems fake ?

Any airline or any website anywhere in the world would refund you if a flight is canceled !

I usually use skyscanner to see which airlines are running the best price and then check the airline website.

Earlier this year I deviated and booked with an agent, Opodo, so I could pay by UK credit card, big mistake. BA cancelled the flight and Opodo would not deal with the refund. Had I booked direct with BA it would have not been a problem. I had to take Opodo and BA to court to get my money back.

[sandyf]

Earlier this year I deviated and booked with an agent, Opodo, so I could pay by UK credit card, big mistake. BA cancelled the flight and Opodo would not deal with the refund. Had I booked direct with BA it would have not been a problem. I had to take Opodo and BA to court to get my money back.

? The whole point of paying by UK credit card is the charge-back facility that they offer and the section 75 protection that makes the card issuer jointly liable with the vendor.

If you dont get what you pay for the card issuer MUST refund you itself, and in my experience they always do. Up to them how they deal with the vendor afterwards.

Even using a UK debit card still gives you the charge-back protection, though Visa is better at this than MC is.

I know what you are saying but when they played up I decided to use the small claims service and also claimed consequential loss, they settled before it actually got to court.

[KittenKong]

I know what you are saying but when they played up I decided to use the small claims service and also claimed consequential loss, they settled before it actually got to court.

Ah, claims for loss are a different thing. Section 75 and charge-back cover you for the full cost of whatever you bought but no more.

[OMGImInPattaya]

to US ....China Airlines....Business Class ...$2500

I haven't seen any flights for less than around $3300 on their website (to SFO).

[Chivas]

I have never ever found a cheaper seat on an airlines own website as opposed to Travel Supermarket and its forerunners. Acknowledge that one or two others may have done so.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Chivas

[nidieunimaitre]

I have never ever found a cheaper seat on an airlines own website as opposed to Travel Supermarket and its forerunners. Acknowledge that one or two others may have done so.

An advantage of booking through the airline itself, is that often you have more choice.

A travel agent (on line or office) would give you the cheapest fare, with perhaps a long stopover.

On the airline's website you might find a more convenient flight, for little extra money.

Conclusion: First collect information from the travel agents, next check that info with the airlines.

And to answer the OP: Turkish Airlines website is very good: user friendly, often specials (and many destinations).

[Chivas]

I have never ever found a cheaper seat on an airlines own website as opposed to Travel Supermarket and its forerunners. Acknowledge that one or two others may have done so.

An advantage of booking through the airline itself, is that often you have more choice.

A travel agent (on line or office) would give you the cheapest fare, with perhaps a long stopover.

On the airline's website you might find a more convenient flight, for little extra money.

No.....

[gk10002000]

EVA and China Air. EVA never a problem, easy to change tickets, and of course easy to use my frequent flier Evergreen miles. As others have written, going to the airline website leaves little doubt as to the exact class of ticket you have. While I have used expedia and orbitz now and then, I now only use them to maybe scope out what flights might be available, then I go to that airline's site to book

[beachproperty]

to US ....China Airlines....Business Class ...$2500

I haven't seen any flights for less than around $3300 on their website (to SFO).

87,000 baht ....been using them and paying that for Years.....

That being said ...airlines are changing their prices ALL the time BUT my last flights to SFO (Oct 23 and Sept) have both been 87,000 Baht (or $2500) for Business Class

Edited November 19, 2015 by beachproperty

[55Jay]

I usually start with Momondo, Google Flights, et al, to see the price ranges, narrow down, then book direct with airline. I've noticed the tickets are a touch higher than consolidators, but being a direct customer is worth the extra few bucks.

Don't fly as much as I used to when working, so I follow the fares more than airline loyalty these days. Still shy away from the uber-cheap mainland Chinese airlines. Otherwise, I've ridden on Eva, Cathay Pacific, Korean to the US West coast. I'm a recovering QR FF Groupie. LOL.

Interesting comment on China Air J class, I gave them a look for LAX this past summer, but hesitate because of the hit and miss reviews. Think I read the other day they've rolled out their triple 7s, might have to give that a go next time.

[thailanddogerator]

So there is no ultimate reply and no website has been able to really ALWAYS offer the best prices ? Competition is sometimes ridiculous.

[nisakiman]

I have never ever found a cheaper seat on an airlines own website as opposed to Travel Supermarket and its forerunners. Acknowledge that one or two others may have done so.

Likewise.

I generally use Momondo, which gives several agent options.

The other aspect for me is that I live on a Greek island, and with Momodo I can check flight costs including the domestic leg as a single ticket.

I generally use Qatar to fly to Bangkok, but I've never found a cheaper fare on their own website - I usually get both domestic and international flights for less than Qatar quote for just the international (ATH-BKK-ATH). Not only that, but as Aegean and Qatar are part of the same alliance (Star?), I check my bags in at my local airport and don't see them again until I get to BKK.

Momondo also give a range of flight times options and prices, so you can pick the best for stopovers. I generally get about 2 hrs in both Athens and Doha, which by the time you've disembarked and checked in for the next leg gives just about enough time for a coffee, a cigarette and a bit of a browse in the duty-free. Perfect.

Edited December 13, 2015 by nisakiman