Cheap flights through a third party? What you need to know before booking
Every day, hundreds of brits go online to find cheap flights for their next trip. Whether it’s a weekend in Paris, a budget trip to Amsterdam or two weeks by the pool somewhere further south, the hunt for the best flight deal typically starts in the same place: a price comparison website that compares flight prices in real time across hundreds of airlines.
This is no coincidence. When looking for cheap flights, it seems easy and obvious to use a provider that brings together flights, hotels and sometimes even car hire in one place. You search, compare and book – on paper, the quickest route to the cheapest flight and the perfect accommodation. But when you book flights through a travel agency such as Travellink, Kiwi.com or similar platforms, rather than directly with the airline, this can sometimes lead to a number of problems that many travellers only realise when it’s too late. At Refundmore, we see the same issues time and time again – and most of them could have been avoided.
1. You won’t be notified if your flight is changed
When you book through a third party, it’s usually the provider’s email address and telephone number that are registered with the airline – not yours. This means that if the airline changes the departure time, alters the route or cancels the flight, the notification may never reach you. Instead, you’ll only find out at the airport when the flight isn’t leaving as you expected.
Our advice: Always check the airline’s own app shortly before departure – regardless of where you booked – and keep an eye out for any changes to your journey.
2. The ticket you’ve bought doesn’t exist
It sounds unbelievable, but it happens: you pay for tickets on a website, receive a confirmation – and only realise at check-in or at the airport that the ticket doesn’t actually exist with the airline. This may be due to errors on the provider’s part, unreliable partners, or the booking process never having been completed correctly.
Our advice: Always check the airline’s own app or website to see if you can find your booking shortly after you’ve booked – not just the day before departure.
3. You are not given the flight number for your booking
A valid booking confirmation should include your name, date, booking reference and flight number. However, many people find that the confirmation from a third party is missing the flight number. Without it, it can be difficult to keep track of the flight’s status – and if the flight is later delayed or cancelled, a lack of documentation can make it harder to prove which flight you were actually supposed to be on when claiming compensation.
See examples of booking confirmations from various airlines here.
4. You can’t do anything when your flight is changed
If you book directly with the airline, you can usually rebook your journey yourself, choose a different departure or get help straight away. If, on the other hand, you book through a third party, it is often only the provider who can change the booking – and you are dependent on their support. If the provider is difficult to get hold of, or if the company is based in another country, it can take days to get a reply, whilst your travel plans come to a standstill.
Read more about the rules for rebooking.
5. A missed connection can mean you have no rights at all
This is one of the pitfalls we see most often at Refundmore. If your journey consists of several flights with stopovers, it is crucial that the entire booking – all legs of the journey – is under one and the same booking reference. If, instead, you have booked the individual flights separately, for example to save money or find the cheapest combination, they are legally considered separate journeys. If you miss your connecting flight because the first flight was delayed, you generally have no right to either rebooking or compensation for the second flight – even though the delay was actually the reason you missed your connecting flight.
Read more about your rights if you miss a connecting flight.
6. Compensation is paid to the third party – not to you
If your flight is delayed or cancelled and you are entitled to compensation, the airline will usually pay the money to the person who made the payment. If you’ve booked through a third party and agreed that any refund should be credited back to the card originally used to pay for the tickets, this may in practice mean that the compensation ends up with the provider rather than with you as the passenger – and that you’ll have to contact them yourself to claim the money.
How to protect your rights when booking your next trip
This doesn’t mean you should never use a price comparison site or an international website to find cheap flights. It’s certainly possible to get a good deal that way. But a few simple habits make a big difference:
Save and review your booking confirmation straight away. Check that your name, dates, baggage allowance, booking reference and flight number are correct.
Check the airline’s app or website to confirm that the booking actually exists with the airline – not just with the provider.
Book your entire journey under a single booking reference if your journey includes stopovers – this is often a prerequisite for being entitled to compensation if something goes wrong along the way.
Be aware of what happens to any compensation if the flight is cancelled or delayed when you book through a third party.
Be flexible with your travel dates if you want to hunt for the best flight deal, but never let this compromise the fact that the entire booking is held in one place.
Whether you book directly with the airline or through a provider such as Travellink, it ultimately comes down to knowing what you’re agreeing to. Then you can carry on searching for the best deals across cities, destinations and dates – and focus your thoughts on something more enjoyable than the small print.
If you’ve already experienced a delayed or cancelled flight and are unsure where you stand – whether you booked directly or through a third party – you can always get Refundmore to check if you’re entitled to compensation. It only takes two minutes.
