‘Don’t rely on flight price comparison sites’
Monday, 29 Sep, 2009
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Air fare price comparison websites should not be relied on for searching on the best rates, according to consumer body Which? Holiday
A test of 12 comparison sites found Flightchecker.co.uk and Dohop.com as the worst, while Travelsupermarket.com was rated top due to its user-friendly pages and good fare results.
The results appear in the October issue of the Which? Holiday magazine out today (Tuesday).
The magazine calls for sites to give more flexible options at the search stage and to provide more detailed flight information at the results stage.
While comparison sites are described as great as a guide and starting point for flight searches, “they can’t be relied upon for 100% accuracy or even for offering the best fare,” Which? Holiday said.
“Sites don’t cover the whole market, and maybe updated once daily – by which time airline fares might have already gone up or down.”
The absence of Ryanair from many comparison sites means that users can miss the cheapest fares, according to Which? Holiday.
Many of the sites also gave “little or no warning” that prices could be subject to extra fees.
The survey to establish the cheapest quotes avoided including sites that had no fares or those that take bookings. It was based on flight searches between Edinburgh and Palma and London to New York.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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