Want to grab yourself a good deal on a flight and are looking on a search engine like Skyscanner? There is a lot more to it than just the price you see when you are seeing a cheap airfare advertised. This is what you need to know to make sure you are really getting a good deal on Skyscanner.
Why use a search engine to search for flights
Using a search engine like Skyscanner is a great way to get an overall idea of cost and to see what airlines fly to your destination. In my article on How to Book the Cheapest Flights Online there are also a few more tips you can read on the topic. With Skyscanner you can search for ‘whole month’ in the depart and return fields, to get an overview on what are the cheapest dates to fly. If you have some flexibility with dates, this is a super handy tool rather than having to look at individually day by day at fares. It will also save you loads of time instead of looking at each date on different airlines websites!
Skyscanner generally will surface all the search results from cheapest to most expensive airlines. Note that no different to any other search engine – some airlines might be paying for that top placement on the list. So even if they are not the cheapest, ensure to adjust your filters for the price or keep scrolling till you have a look at all the available options.
Adjusting Filters: Stopovers or Direct Flights. Are you really getting a good deal on Skyscanner?
On Skyscanner, an important step is to adjust your filters to the left. These are mainly around the stops (if you want to fly direct or with a stopover) and the trip duration. Have a think about your trip and how many hours you want to fly to get there.
Consider this – you might save some money if you do a layover and it takes an extra few hours – but, it may also mean that extra hours at the airport = more purchases, like meals, airport lounge and, lets not kid ourselves.. shopping. Getting to your destination later, might also mean you miss a day at your destination and you end up paying for a night in a hotel that you only use for a handful of hours which would be a waste. Add all those things up and work out if it’s worth it based on your budget.
Calculating total costs: Airlines Add-Ons
In the search engines, budget airlines will usually appear at the top of the searches as the cheapest but consider that there may be some additional expenses that are generally not part of their basic fare that is displayed. Some of the most common add ons on are:
- Meals and drinks
- Luggage
- Entertainment including wi-fi access
- Seat allocation fees
- Processing fees to pay with a particular credit card type
- Flexibility and higher fees for changing dates / refunds
- Airport Check-in fees
Note also that in recent years many full service airlines are also now adopting this model of offering a lower cost basic fare – but many inclusions like seat allocations that you might think are included are now a add on.
Downsides of using a search engine to compare fares
There are two downsides to comparing flight prices with a search engine:
- You cannot see the final price with all the extras: The search engines will usually only display the airfare cost – but again, what airlines include as part of their ticket offering differs greatly. The only way to see the absolute final price you will pay – is by going in the site you choose and pretending you are making the booking right up till the final booking screen (before clicking Pay of course) which will display the final price with all the extras and processing fees.
- It cannot work out fares or makes it difficult to compare when it’s a complex itinerary: Search engines start to get a bit more complicated to use if the itinerary is a complex one that involves multiple stops. Once you also start going across more than 2 continents, the ticket is technically a Round The World ticket. For these you are probably better off going on a Round The World site like One World to check fares.
If it all gets too confusing – it is also worth going to a local travel agent to check how you can get to your destinations. They will know what will be the best way to organize and break down your itinerary and give you an idea of price, so you will then have a better starting point to do your research.
Which are the best flight search engines
Aside from Skyscanner, which is my favourite search engine when looking for flights, there are also some other great ones that you can check out!
Hope you found these tips useful to find out if you are really getting a good deal on Skyscanner!
If you liked this article, check out my other post – How To Book The Cheapest Flights Online.
