Farestore.com, TravelMerry.com: MUCH cheaper than "normal" websites. Is this real?
Typically I use hipmunk to quickly figure out what good connections and good prices are. Recently I saw that "unknown" websites like farestore or travelmerry are the lowest bidder by a huge margin.
Example: Boston<->London Aug/7-Aug/12 the "cheap" websites show prices that on "good airlines" (British, Lufthansa, Swiss) that are about half (or even less) what you find on "normal" websites (Expedia, Kayak) or at the airline. The price difference was drastic: 1000$+.
The cheap flights seem to be bookable, i.e. can get to the point where I type in my name and my credit card (which I didn't do).
Has anyone used these before? Are there for real or is this some sort scam?
P.S.: all these cheap sites all seem to have the logo "powered by skyscanner", getawayasap seem to be another of these sites
Best Answer
Note that many tickets you're buying on getawayasap are non-changeable (this means, at all - not even with fees), and might not include luggage.
Generally the tickets you buy through the most travel sites and from airlines directly are changeable (although with a fee). This means if you want to change a flight at any segment - for example you got sick and have to move the return leg - you can do so, by paying a fee and fare difference. This might not make sense financially (i.e. in US/EU domestic flights in some cases it is cheaper to simply forfeit the return and buy another one way), but for more expensive flights this is an option.
When you're buying a non-changeable ticket, this is not an option, and if you got sick, or missed a flight for the reason other than carrier's fault (i.e. it is not connecting flight), you will lose the remaining of your ticket.
Also when you're looking for a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific ticket on "normal" sites, the fares you got there typically include some free baggage allowance (one or two pieces depending on the airline). The fare you purchase from other sites might not include any, and if you happen to check a bag, the fee might eat up your savings.
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