Flights direct with airline or with Flight Centre, Trailfinders, Travelbag, Travel Nation etc?
Hi all,
I know similar things may have been posted before and I've tried searching and Googling, but I would quite like some things clarifying/bespoke advice!
I'm planning to go travelling to SE Asia and Australia for 5 months. I will be doing a volunteering type placement for 10 weeks in the Philippines so I have some fairly fixed dates/locations in mind, so flexibility in dates isn't hugely important to me. Heres my general plan and the flights I have found myself using sky scanner:
London -> Bangkok (Eva Air- £440)
Bangkok -> Dumaguete (Phillipine Airlines £196)
Dumaguete -> Singapore (Phillipine Airlines £196)
Singapore -> Darwin (Jet star £100) (I only added Singapore in as it seemed cheaper to do this then to go between Dumaguette and Darwin directly + nice chance to explore Singapore for a day or two!)
Sydney -> London (Air India £432)
My basic question is, am I better off booking with a 3rd party like Trailfinders or Travel nation, OR should I book the flights directly from the airline?
I have already got a quote for ~£1600, which is £300+ more expensive than what I could do by booking with airlines because for some reason they chose to quote me most the flights with Malaysia airlines which are more expensive... tbh from the reviews online I am seeing I might avoid. I have emailed Travel Nation for a quote and plan to ring Trailfinders tomorrow.
I was wondering, if third parties can't offer me anything much cheaper, are there any particular reasons why I should book with them over directly with the airline? I've read varying reports on how useful third parties can be when things go wrong and that dealing directly with the airline can be easier? But do the third parties come with some assurances that the airlines won't, like if airlines cancel flights etc? I'm beginning to think that booking them individually with the airlines might work out better for me?
Thanks for your help!
Will
I travelled in Europe and haven't use a travel agent in years. Organising a trip is very easy.
First establish (in broad terms) what you want to do and see (you already done that) and in what time frame. Read about your chosen destinations and start checking flights. Prices will fluctuate with time, so after a while decide how much you want to pay. Visit as many company sites as possible and compare them before choosing one.
Once you acquire your plane tickets, you will have firm dates, and then you can work on reserving hotel and transportation between your destinations.
Travel agents used to be essentials, now they are not. Doing it yourself takes some work, but it is quite an interesting to do; after all it is your trip.
I forgot to mention, when looking for your plane tickets, do not forget to check for "open jaw" tickets which many companies also call multi-city tickets. On those tickets, you arrive in one city and go home from another one. Generally, they are not significantly costlier and save you a lot of time and expenses.