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Afternoon All,
Apologies if this is posted to wrong thread. Never used a online travel booking site for flight booking always go directly with an airline. I was searching flights to Stockholm on google flights with gotogate coming in 25% cheaper than SAS. Are they risks booking with gotogate or should I book with SAS for peace of mind?
As you will see elsewhere on this forum, online travel agents come with potential risks and problems. For me, direct every time.
I’ve used them a couple of times including having to unexpectedly change a flight once and it was all fine. I’d personally only use them if it was for a cheapo simple flight that I was very likely not to want to change or go too wrong. Otherwise I’d try book direct
Gotogate has about the worst reports online everywhere (in the world, it seems), of any Online Travel Agent.
Beware they trade under different OTA names. They have a convoluted owning and operating structure involving Switzerland. The way they organise and are structured makes them even harder than other OTA’s to pursue (ie for performance or rights or refunds etc., or legally). In fact I’m surprised Switzerland is willing to host them.
This is anecdotal based on what I see and hear but in many places over years.
There isn’t a price that would make me book with them. Probably not even £1 to Australia, tomorrow. Today maybe if I’m at the airport and can receive and can verify the ticket and all the flights on it, immediately.
And (as with any OTA if you really must use them) only paying at least £1 of a ticket value for any one ticket of over £100 (check they haven’t issued it as separate tickets if you were not expecting that) with my UK credit (not debit not charge) card so I can call the cardco to get my money back if they don’t deliver. Cos calling GoToGate to fix anything? SOL.
Avoid.
PS Keep looking on Google flights, take your time if you have it, I would
First thing I’d do is check that the fare is really like for like.
Does the go to fare fare include baggage for example? It may be cheaper than SAS because it doesn’t.
Many online agents have an absolutely appalling reputation when things go wrong and you have to deal with them to sort out a schedule change or flight cancellation or a refund.
There isn’t a price that would make me book with Gotogate.
This.
You may get lucky and all go OK, but if any small thing goes wrong you’ll be up the creek without a paddle.
Chances of things going wrong are hugely increased by this ilk of OTA selling tickets that don’t exist in the hope they can buy them later at a profit to them using cash from future customers similarly enticed by “too good to be true” prices.
Yes, your cash paid now will not be ring-fenced for your financial protection, but will be spent buying other customers’ tickets.
Their operating model is one massive Ponzi scheme, explaining why customers had so much trouble getting refunds when Covid hit.
Avoid avoid avoid. Why Google Flights continues to include these shysters I simply don’t know.
thank you all for the really useful replies so it’s pretty clear avoid avoid avoid. I’ll book directly with SAS.
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