"Learn from me" flight advice!

[little tess]

Booked airline flights through JustFly. NEVER AGAIN! Good tickets, disclosures seem in order, I read everything, and booked.

And the fees are rolling across my credit card so fast I've lost track of what's what. Extracating has not been easy. Or cheap. Lesson learned.

 

[Alesia]

Never, ever book a flight through a third-party. I'm sorry that you had to learn the hard way

 

[georgina]

I've used Expedia when I needed connecting flights on different airlines. I know some have had issues with them, but so far I haven't. They have been quicker at notifying me of flight changes than the airlines themselves.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I used Orbitz once and it was a pain when the flight got changed to another time that wouldn't work for me. I've not used a third party booking since.

 

[tink1970]

So sorry you didn't have a good experience but kind of you to share to prevent others having the same problem.

 

[supersnoop]

And the fees are rolling across my credit card so fast I've lost track of what's what.

That's awfully vague. What fees are you being charged and why?

 

[msmayor]

One of the other unknowns with using a third-party 'cheapest fare' site is not knowing exactly what fare class of ticket you now own. Many times, these cheap guys are selling what's known as a 'consolidator ticket'...these are tickets purchased in bulk at deep discounts by the consolidator and then re-sold...to consumers like you.

If everything goes fine with your flight, you may never know if you have one of these tickets. But if there is a problem...like a weather delay, your original flight gets canceled, equipment change to a smaller plane...consolidator tickets are usually LAST in line to get help. They also may not be endorsable to other carriers. Lets say you have a Delta ticket and your Delta flight gets cancelled. No problem, you think...looks like other passengers are being re-ticketed to an American Airlines flight that gets them where they need to go around the same time. Except you. Your consolidator ticket only allows for re-ticketing on Delta, so you're left hoping that there is a Delta flight that they can get you on and arrive at your destination reasonably close to your original plans.

 

[teller80]

OP - can you be more specific about the fees you were charged? I know seat assignment and luggage fees are pretty common, what else were you charged for?