Discrepancies between flight comparison websites and airlines
I have noticed an oddity comparing flight prices between flight comparison websites such as SkyScanner, Google Flights, Travel Trolley and the airlines themselves.
Often, prices for a particular route or flight are listed notably cheaper on SkyScanner than on the website of the airline operating the flight(s). This in itself is not surprising.
SkyScanner appears to search other flight comparison companies such as Travel Trolley rather than the airlines themselves, so it seems natural to expect that discrepancies between their price and the price on the airline's website result from special offers from the third party companies SkyScanner searches. Yet, when searching directly on, say, Travel Trolley, one often finds a different or higher price than SkyScanner offers through Travel Trolley. Note here that Travel Trolley appears to honour SkyScanner's cheaper price when directed through to their website.
- Are these discrepancies a result of outdated data, or particular deals between various third parties that result in a complex array of prices for the exactly the same flights?
- Do price comparison websites make deals with SkyScanner?
- Who makes these deals? Google Flights appears to search the airlines directly and have none.
- What is going on behind the scenes here that I am missing?
Pictures about "Discrepancies between flight comparison websites and airlines"
Best Cheap Flights Websites NOBODY is Talking About | How to Find Cheap Flights 2022
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: AMAN, Jeffry Surianto, Fariz Priandana, Jeffry Surianto