It’s a long-standing piece of travel advice: always book directly with airlines rather than using Travel Search Engines. The common belief is that while travel search engines like Expedia, Kayak, and Momondo are great for comparing prices, you’ll often find better deals by going straight to the airline’s website. However, is this always the case? One seasoned traveler shares their experience which challenges this widely accepted notion, particularly when using travel search engines.
For someone who has been flying frequently for 15 years, with extensive travel across Europe, Mexico, Canada, and the US, the advice to book direct has always seemed counterintuitive. Living in a smaller community in British Columbia, Canada, with Kelowna and Spokane airports a considerable drive away, this traveler has consistently used travel search engines to find flights. Their routine involves checking various platforms, from Expedia and Kayak to Momondo and ITA Matrix, always on the lookout for the best deals. More often than not, these searches involve multiple airlines due to the scarcity of direct flights from regional airports.
The surprising part? Despite the advice, travel search engines frequently offered lower prices than booking directly with the airline. A recent trip from Kelowna to Los Cabos perfectly illustrates this point. Searching on Expedia revealed a price $150 cheaper than booking the exact same WestJet flight directly through the WestJet website. While the preference was to book directly with the airline for ease of management and potential issue resolution, the significant cost saving led to booking through Expedia. Other travel search engines often redirected to various booking sites, such as Kiwi and Booking.com, which didn’t inspire the same level of trust.
This experience, primarily pre-Covid, led to confusion. Seeing constant recommendations in travel forums to book directly with airlines, yet consistently finding cheaper fares on travel search engines, created a disconnect. More recently, using Google Flights has yielded results more aligned with airline website pricing, but even in limited comparisons, Expedia sometimes still comes out cheaper.
This personal account raises a valid question: Is the advice to always book directly still relevant, or are travel search engines providing increasingly competitive pricing? While many still advocate for direct booking, experiences like this highlight the importance of comparing prices across various platforms, including travel search engines, to ensure you’re truly getting the best deal for your flights. It seems that in the ever-evolving landscape of online flight booking, relying solely on conventional wisdom might lead you to miss out on potential savings offered by travel search engines.
