Hi all, So far I have used Philippine Airlines to travel to Manila. I chose them because I like the convenience of direct flights (from Heathrow) - and I kind of dig the idea of using their national airline . I am planning some more trips, and have noticed that I can save £100+ by using Expedia or LastMinute.com, instead of purchasing directly from PAL. A quick Google reveals that LastMinute.com has a pretty bad name and notorious for bait and switch on pricing. Expedia also has its fair share of scary stories. What are your thoughts? Would you pay £100+ extra for the added assurance of dealing directly with the airline? Or have you had good experiences with other agents? Also, feel free to suggest some more if you've had positive experiences with them. Thank you!
First time I flew to Pinas was 2010. I just searched and found a cheap third party called ebookers. I too initially read reviews prior to booking. Thing is you’re always more inclined to see more bad reviews than good and not with just travel agents but any service you use. It’s human nature to make a stink when things go wrong. Anyhow, coming back to ebookers, my journey was all confirmed having got the booking number and confirming with the actual airline 2010 if you recollect was when Northern Europe air space got shut down because of the Icelandic volcano. Well the flight was a no-go but fear not, ebookers sorted everthing and rebooked a later date. I have however since booked with airlines directly.
omegaflightstore.com also seem to have some decent prices. Can anyone share their experiences with them? Thank you
@HaloHalo Thanks for the input. Pretty certain I have used ebookers.com before, but only for hotels. Don't recall any problems - I'll give them a look. Thanks
Oh I never realized. ebookers.com is actually expedia? Or at least they're using the same search engine for flights.
I’ll take your word for it, like I say no problems at all but worth seeing if you get any other feedback for other booking agents. Ive seen traveltrolley seems to always be one of the lowest for prices but they get some shocking reviews. As I say I always book direct, maybe the fact that I have the family in tow rather than just being a single traveller gives me the comfort of knowing that any issues will be resolved professionally.
I've been booking direct with the airlines for a few years now ... ever since online booking became available in fact. My flight for coming June (Etihad... a first class airline) cost £478, Manchester to Manila return. They also fly from London... which would normally actually cost less. I'm happy to sit in my seat for an extra couple of hours to save 200 quid or more.
I used Omegaflightstore for a flight in January this year with my wife and her daughter all was good.
Used them on my last flight there and to bring the misses here. Didn’t use phil air though. Used Etihad with 1 stop each way for me and used cathy pac for the misses with 1 stop on the way.
I usually use Skyscanner, but have also used Opodo recently as it had some good prices . I've also used Travel Trolley, Expdia , Omega Flight Store and Lees Travel Service in Edgeware Rd all without any problems .
I have almost always used direct booking, I feel far more assured that I will actually get my flight that way rather than using a travel agent. I say 'almost' only because I once used a specialist company called Wexas to book a flight for me, that was one out of about 26 or 27 journeys to the Philippines, I would use them again if I had a lot more money than I actually do as they are more like a concierge they take care of all the details if you have a complex travel itinerary. But yes I would always book direct when something goes wrong your contract is direct with the airline and they have to fix it.
I have used Omega twice. Both times fine Also gone direct which was also fine. My rule is one that most people would know If it seems to good to be true then it normally is. Only once saw this on sky scanner. Flights were like £250 but with a company not used before. googled them and the write ups werent fantastic so avoided them. The airline price was £200 more so something had to be hooky
I always use this site to book my flights and had no problem with them whatsoever. http://www.brightsun.co.uk/
I always book my flights directly with the airline. Couple of years ago I booked flights for my daughter and granddaughter London to Seychelles via Dubai on Emirates. I booked using an online site called Cheapflights, as I remember. As soon as I received the confirmation from them I realised that in a senior moment I'd booked them in her maiden name not married name. OMG what an absolute fiasco trying to sort that out. Endless phone calls to Canada of all places, on hold for what seemed like forever, only to be told that I couldn't make the name change and that I would have to cancel the flights and lose money in the process of course, and rebook, oh and by the way that fare is no longer available, its now £100 more each ticket!! I had already spoken to Emirates Airline who were very understanding but couldn't do anything as the flight wasn't booked directly with them. Never again, always directly with the airline from then on, for me.
