Thats right... Ebookers has hidden costs... which hits u later 

suggested way is, check the options on ebookers. Then note down what is suitable for you in terms of schedule and cost. then go to the respective airline's website and do the booking from there.

In 99% cases you will see that the website of the airline will have a bit cheaper price than ebookers (even excluding hidden costs). This is very common if you are flying by swiss or emirates. CHF 20-30 here and there..good to treat urself with a drink 

secondly, the airline websites dont have any hidden costs. you have immediate debit with exact cost.

third good news is, if u r booking much in advance and are sure that u wont change or cancel the travel, u can make use of economy saver in most airlines and ebookers can't issue tickets at that price. So if u see price on ebookers, that will b resembling with economy and not economy saver. I have seen it plenty of times in swiss air.

Hope it helps...

<< man... frequent flying does have some rewards in terms of experience can i thank myself for this reply? LOL >>

Thanks for the tip! With the CHF20-30 savings here and there .. I can buy both of us a drink ;)

I don't believe it's ever cheaper to book a flight through a 3rd party. I advice you to google "Skyscanner" and check flights there. They don't charge as you will always be linked to the airline itself. Also very good if you can't get a direct flight to your destination as they show connecting flights and the total costs in any currency. Costs are always excluding booking fees of the airline (resevervation, creditcard, luggage etc.). Ow, and they include all airlines.

Thanks for teh skyscanner tip. Looks good, I have bookmarked it!

Here is the response I got from ebookers regarding the CHF85 charge.

Dear client

Thank you for your email.

The amount of CHF 85.00 has been charged for the insurance ( CHF 35.00 ) and the ebookers service fees ( CHF 50.00 ).

During the booking process if you had clicked on Taxes and flight fees this is the information that were given :

The total price and the amount shown in the “Taxes and Fees” line includes the taxes payable on the air ticket and the ebookers.ch service charges. Depending on the airline, fuel surcharges are included either in the price of the plane ticket or in the taxes.

Why do I have to pay a service charge when booking with ebookers.ch ?

Most airlines do not pay commission to Swiss travel agencies anymore. Following the example of the latter, ebookers.ch is therefore forced to charge customers directly for its services in the form of a service charge.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards

ebookers.ch

I like expedia.com. I don't  remember being  charged an extra fees there...

Hi all

I fly a lot and i have to agree,  use Skyscanner as stated before,  i have used ebookers once and there was no hidden charges or i didnt notice lol,  i also use expedia.uk..  they are usually £5 dearer, there charge..

ONE BIG TIP......    British Airways, you have to use the BA country web site you in,  i.e Switzerland,  i have noticed that you then pay swiss prices for BA flights,  i was flying home to Edinburgh and BA swiss site was £300... I checked expedia UK site and picked up same BA flight for £220,  massive saving.. 

Another tip,  when skyscanner give you multipul flights options, you can use the airline individual sites to book,  im have saved a fortune, i.e 

Zurich - Manchester - EasyJet

Manchester - Edinburgh - Flybe

and same return,  for this i flew handluggage only and have boarding cards printed off in advance.

Cheers

Rob

Keep in mind the time you need to board your next flight.

Concerning the example above:

In case your first flight is delayed and you miss the 2nd flight, you do not get refunded anything as they are not liable (2 different airlines).

If you book two flights with Easyjet, same applies as above as Easyjet does not offer connecting flights. They do none the less put you for a "small" fee (+-50euro) on their next available flight. You have to go to their service desk on the airport for this. I got this info from Easyjet personally and used the service once.

Most bigger airlines do offer connecting flights I assume, but it's an important thing to check before you book. Also keep in mind when you choose 2 different airlines, that in case you miss a flight, some airlines offer more flights the same day (so you dont have to spend the night on the airport or hotel at own cost).

That last part made no sence, but you get my drift and I bet you're all experienced enough to figure it out right.

I agree with missing flight but common sense would be to book next flight giving yourself plenty of time to get to airport, i.e a couple of hours..

I spent an extra 2 hours in airport but saved £120.. was more than happy..

Anyway was just trying to help... 

Happy flying :-)

Skyscanner .net or .com? There are two...

Never noticed that, but it's the same website, as they don't charge anything it doesnt matter. You will always book directly at the airline itself.

Type in www.skyscanner.com and it will revert to .net

I don't think so. I just tested skyscanner.net and it sent me to do the booking at... ebookers!?! I thought you guys posted this as an alternative to ebookers... i'm confused/

I confirm, it redirects me but when I click on a result it sends me to book that flight at ebookers.

Click on my link and see what happends,  .com turns to .net

then enter your flight details and it will show you direct offers or tick Indirect or multipul booking... 

Under the cheapest price you will see who best booking is with...

I did Zurich to Edinburgh  and cheapest price is direct from easy jet and return with BMI, link takes you to there web site..

The i have prices from ebookers,  opoodo, travelpack, then airlines then selves..

Rob

If Ebookers has a contract that they can offer lower fairs then the Airline itself, this can happen. Only thing is that booking fees aint mentioned and the flight could still end up being more expensive then when you book at the airline directly

Catalin, where are you flying too

From Geneva to Bucharest, I tested with dates 18 December and 29 December.

I dont get Ebookers in my list, also for going there I get no available direct flight, only for return. See link below for details. Lufthansa is cheapest.

http://www.skyscanner.fr/flights/gva/buch/101218/101229/airfares-from-geneva-to-bucharest-in-december-2010.html

I guess it depends on which country site you are? The link you sent me is from .fr and it sends me to govoyages.com for the booking.

I tried from .net before and it was sending me to ebookers.

The point is, it doesn't send you to the aitline site.

Sorry, I see what you mean, been a few months since I been on there.

In this case these companies offer a deal for cheaper flights (bookingfees not calcullated) then the airline.

You can always check in case of high bookingfees if it's still cheaper then booking directly at the airline.

There is a sidenote: Once I did find a very cheap flight compared to the others, but the company offering had a very bad reputation. Selling more seats then they had for example and then making you take a seat on a flight with terrible times (middle of the night). They are legal companies, but keep in mind it's maybe best to book with a company that you know.

Hi Catalin

Sorry, busy at work... ok i have cheapest skyscanner booking.. Airitalia

£306.00 pounds

Then i changed price to Swiss Francs

check out this

http://www.opodo.co.uk/opodo/flights/search?reset=true&numberOfChildren=0&departureTime=ANY&arrivalAirportCode=OTP&numberOfAdults=1&numberOfInfants=0&departureAirportCode=GVA&returnMonth=201012&airlineName=&searchLowCost=true&popupAirlineCode=&airlineFromSelectBox=true&departureMonth=201012&tripType=R&cabinType=E&returnTime=ANY&popupAirlineName=&departureDay=18&returnDay=29&TRAVELLER_TYPE_1=ADT&HAS_INFANT_1=FALSE&CMP=uk-sky-fl-cpa-sr#FG_287.30

cheers

Rob

opps, dont know why it did that after posting

http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/gva/buch/101218/101229/airfares-from-geneva-to-bucharest-in-december-2010.html?flt=1

Click the indirect box for prices from £286..