4 Reasons Why I’ll Never Book Directly From a Flight Comparison Website Again

Flight comparison websites are great for comparing prices, airlines, and departure times, and I used to book through them all the time. However, I no longer do so for several reasons, and reckon you might stop, too.

Why I Don’t Recommend Booking Via a Flight Comparison Site

I’ve had a number of problems when booking via flight comparison websites, some of which you might already have experienced.

The Checkout Process Is Often More Complicated

Flight comparison sites are aggregator websites; when you find a trip that you want to book, you’ll be redirected to an external site. You will normally see the airline website(s) listed, but these are typically among various third-party booking providers. You can choose whichever one you want to book through, as you can see in this example I took while researching a trip on Skyscanner.

While some third-party sites will work really well, the checkout process is significantly more complicated in other instances. For example, I’ve encountered issues where I can’t check out and have ended up going to the airline’s site anyway.

Although airlines will ask if you want extras (e.g., additional baggage), I’ve found these to often be much less intrusive than most third-party flight booking sites. In my opinion, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. There are plenty of travel apps to help save money away from your flights.

You Sometimes Can’t Add Bookings to Your Airline App

After booking my flight, I want to centralize as much of my trip as possible. Part of this includes adding a flight booking to the airline app. I like doing so for two reasons:

• It’s easier to check-in.
• I can get a full overview of essential flight information; for example, some airlines mention if they have delays within the app.

Naturally, adding a booking to your airline’s app is easier when you book directly. If you purchased your ticket from a browser, you can just add the booking reference. This is often possible with third-party booking services, but not always.

I’ve encountered multiple occasions where I wanted to add a flight booking to the airline’s app, but the number won’t work. While it’s normally fine when I go to the airport, I would rather not have to manually print out my form; it’s more time-consuming and less convenient, and I’d rather avoid having to worry about an extra piece of paper.

You’re In for a Difficult Time if Things Go Wrong

In my early twenties, I always booked via flight comparison websites. Saving money was my primary objective, and for five years, nothing went wrong. However, on a trip to Iceland in September 2021, I discovered a big problem with booking via flight comparison websites.

My mom and I were due to fly from Reykjavík to Akureyri in the north of the country. Unfortunately, there was a really bad blizzard on the morning of our trip. Unsurprisingly, our trip was canceled—and although we initially debated the six-hour bus journey, we didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Since we were unable to reschedule our flights, we next tried to get a refund. To do this, we had to contact the services from which we booked our flights. I didn’t get a full refund, and dealing with someone who wasn’t the airline made everything more stressful than needed.

In hindsight, I should have prepared for this type of situation. Iceland is known for its volatile weather, and planning based on a best-case scenario wasn’t particularly wise. This kind of situation is more likely to happen with long-haul flights (and it’s annoying even if you have gadgets to survive them), and if you’re spending a lot of money anyway, I honestly think it’s worth the extra few hundred dollars to book directly with the airline.

Flight Prices Are Sometimes Inaccurate

The flights you book will form a huge part of your travel itinerary, and you can normally get a better deal if you’re more flexible with the days you travel. But when looking at flight comparison websites, it’s important to remember that the prices you see won’t always be accurate.

Firstly, you might notice your flight prices fluctuating each time you check. In some cases, for example, I’ve noticed different prices when looking at my smartphone, computer, and iPad. But even if the prices remain the same, they might change when you click through to the website.

I’ve had multiple occasions where I originally saw a certain price that ended up being inaccurate. Of course, this can happen with airline websites and apps, but the number of times I’ve experienced this is minimal in comparison.

You should also remember that the flight price you see in your results will typically be the cheapest online. In many cases, you’ll also see several negative reviews associated with the booking services that offer these.

Despite Not Booking Through Them, I Still Use Flight Comparison Sites

From what you’ve read, it might seem like I hate flight comparison websites. But let me assure you: That couldn’t be further from the truth. I still believe that these websites are valuable resources for discovering rough price estimates around the dates I’d like to travel.

Even more importantly, I love using websites like Skyscanner to compare departure times and find an ideal combination. For example, while I like traveling early in the morning, I do not like leaving first thing in the morning. And in some cases, I might find that the best option is to book two different airlines for varying legs of my return journey.

In essence, I use flight comparison websites as a search engine. Yes, I could use Google, but flight comparison sites normally have more user-friendly interfaces. After finding the flights I’d like to book, I then go directly to the airline’s website or app.

Booking via flight comparison websites can be risky, especially for long-haul trips. It’s almost always more expensive to book directly with the airline, but you’ll get better support and peace of mind. Instead of booking via them, use flight comparison sites as a search engine.