Cheap flight searches

[KARL]

I wonder how many people are annoyed by the way some sites lure you in by flagging up prices which turn out not to be available. Similarly, how many are irritated by drip-pricing at low fares agents (telephone contact). Examples are Netflights and Skyscanner where the fare that was indicated is \"no longer available\" but one 50-100% higher is, or else you are directed to the airline\'s booking site where the quoted fare is far higher than was promised. On the phone-agents\' side you find they give you a fare, then before it comes to confirmation there is a booking fee, then a \"tax correction\", then a credit card charge, and who knows what after that.

[BenDToy]

This has never happened to me on Expedia or Fly.com. Stick to these and you will be fine.

[fbg40]

Hi Karl
Have you tried Kayak ?
FBG40

[paross]

There will soon be no such thing as 'cheap' flights. Did you see in the paper that from this week extra charges are being added (a green tax) and are scaled to how many miles you are travelling and whether you're in cattle or business or first ( a different amount for each class) ? It is going to add hundreds if you are say, a oouple travelling business class to USA and it's going up again 100% next year!!!

[djtdjt]

I use EasyJet every time, their website is easier to use than any of the other so called cheap airlines, all the rest just seem to pile on extra charges!

[Andyvon]

I agree djtdjt. We've travelled with easyJet many times and we've never had any problems, either with the website or the actual travel experience.

I know you hear many horror stories but they usually seem to come from people not taking care or using common sense. It seems most complaints can be traced to passengers not checking each stage of their booking carefully, then they expect the airline to alter the booking as a matter of course - and for free. Other travellers seem to make on-going bookings which will be compromised if the flight is delayed, or they turn up at the airport shortly before the gate closes.
If travellers carefully check each stage of the booking before clicking 'Yes' or 'Book Now' then they shouldn't have any trouble with the website. We always arrive at least two or three hours before the flight then everything is quiet and relaxed. Anyone planning to arrive at the airport with 20 or 30 minutes to spare is asking for trouble. What if they have a puncture on the way or get caught in unexpected traffic? Then they don't blame themselves for missing the flight of course - they blame the airline for not keeping the gate open or asking the plane to wait! If passengers make on-going bookings they should always bear in mind flights are frequently delayed. On-going bookings should always be made with plenty of time factored in after landing as it's better to have three hours to spare if the plane lands on time rather than have plans fall apart if the plane's an hour late.

[mikey0118]

Firstly, it is worth noting that SkyScanner.net is merely a price comparison site and not one that actually sells you flights. The idea of the site is to save you the legwork and to search lots of airlines sites using the dates, times, airlines, airports etc. that you provide. As for NetFlights.com, I have only once or two found that some of their too-good-to-be-true fares have sold out, but never ever have I come across a price hike of 50-100% on the next most suitable flight. £20 or £30 maybe, but I think you are exaggerating!

djtdjt, I laughed out loud when I read your reply. You are joking, right? To say that easyJet do not "pile on extra charges" is just ridiculous. I have just gone through the booking process for a flight from Gatwick to Barcelona - although with no intention of booking a flight. The outbound fare is £30.99 and the return is £19.88. By default, the airline has automatically added 'Speedy Boarding' to my booking at a cost of £14.00 for the two flights, they want £16.00 from me if I have checked baggage and they have assumed that I wanted their travel insurance at £8.99. Frankly, at almost £80.00 for this return flight, I don't think that represents good value for money. The fare that was shown to me originally was somewhat appealing but the extra charges have really hiked the price up! And if that isn't insulting enough, easyJet want even more money out of me in order to pay for this flight unless I am one of the very few people who uses a Visa Electron card.

[tinkerbell23]

mikey- i managed to take off speedy boarding..its usless to me and also insurance with easy jet...u can choose not to check a bag in too- suppose thats not always suitable!! however...the 7quid charge is rediculous to use a card isnt it!!!!!!!