For millennial Asian travellers, here’s how to avoid a raw deal when booking trips online

Flight aggregators can sometimes give you a raw deal, the Hong Kong Consumer Council says

Seasoned travellers give their suggestions, including taking the time to compare prices on flight aggregators with what airline websites offer

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Passengers check in at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Published: 5:15pm, 7 Apr 2019Updated: 5:15pm, 7 Apr 2019

Online travel agencies and flight aggregators have become a vital tool for Asia’s young and price-conscious travellers to book flights. But here’s the catch: flight aggregators, despite their promises, may not in fact be delivering the best deals, according to research by Hong Kong’s Consumer Council.

The council said last month it had conducted at least 50 searches for flights to and from Hong Kong on six fare comparison websites – Skyscanner, Kayak, Cheapflights, Momondo, DuckDuckLook and Google Flights – and found Skycanner to be the best performer, and Google Flights the worst.

Travel agency owner Winnie Cheung said travellers who expect to get the best prices via flight aggregators can easily be misled, as prices depend on how and when they search for tickets.

“Availabilities change every second. When a [seat class] is filled, the price goes up,” the 52-year-old owner of Hong Kong’s Emporium Travel said.

Customers can also book through airlines directly. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Flight aggregators do simplify the ticket search process. Google Flights and Skyscanner, for example, operate as search engines that sift through dozens of airfare-selling websites to provide travellers with a comparison of rates. Once a traveller clicks on the price they want, the aggregator will redirect the user to a website where the ticket can be purchased.

Some of these aggregators also act as online travel agencies (OTAs) – examples are Booking.com and Expedia– that allow users to purchase tickets directly.

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