4 ms·
> Third party apps are not allowed by airlines to charge less than the airline Technically true in that they can't undercut the airline on the same fare class.
by tomhoward 2y ago
> Third party apps are not allowed by airlines to charge less than the airline
Technically true in that they can't undercut the airline on the same fare class.
But there are many different fare classes and some of them are only offered via 3rd parties, so you can often get much better deals via e.g., Expedia than you can by going direct to the airline.
Just this year my family flew Melbourne-Madrid then Milan-Melbourne, both legs on Cathay, but this route was only available on Expedia (and maybe other OTAs too, I don't remember) - all I know was that it was impossible to even search for this route on Cathay's own website. We didn't have any issues, but if we did I don't know if I'd worry about Expedia's customer service being much worse than an airline's own service.
- maccard 2y ago> We didn't have any issues, but if we did I don't know if I'd worry about Expedia's customer service being much worse than an airline's own service. The problem (speaking as someone who has to deal with Travel Agents many, many times) is that Expedia will say it's Cathay's problem, and Cathay will refuse to speak to you and tell you it's Expedia's problem.
- ddoolin 2y agoThis has happened to me so many times with both flights and hotels. Now I very rarely book through third parties (only search) unless the discounted rate is compelling enough. It just happened to me 2 weeks ago. I booked a resort in Cancun through Chase Travel at a heavily-discounted rate and made an error in booking, for one person versus needing two. Chase said they couldn't change it and to call the resort, their middle agency said they couldn't change it, and the resort said they couldn't change it and to call the agent! It eventually got fixed after hours of calling and essentially pleading.
- Workaccount2 2y agoWho was the one who eventually was able to change it?