I've discovered a website with much better fares for international flights from the States to Greece,

http://www.globester.com/

I've never seen them before, but when I did a price comparison for a flight from where I live in Oregon to Athens, which on Orbitz came in at $1364 (inc. all taxes and surcharges) the same exact flights on Globester came in at $834 (inc. all taxes and surcharges), $530 less! Does anyone know this booking service?

BLL, in this case Google is certainly our friend. I just now googled "Globester Business news stories" and came up with some -- but the particular link I suggest that you look at is:
http://www.measuredup.com/review/HOR...LOBESTER.-6111

The story of the hapless flight customer is complicated but the upshot is that this agency is a nightmare .. and it is apparently not just one unhappy customer. There is a button you can click for "more reviews" and you find a whole gaggle of desperately unhappy ex-customers ... won't even repeat some of the things they discovered this agency has done.

Bottom line = BEWARE! EvERYBODY!

Yes, I saw the same reviews after posting.

http://www.measuredup.com/company/Globester-1746

The good news is that I've found other airfare consolidators are offering the same itinerary for approximately the same fare.

Brotherleelove - can you help us out with the names of some reliable consolidators that are offering good prices? I'm having no luck with ITA, Kayak, Mobissimo, Cheaptickets and my usual search engines.

Thanks,
Alice

Based on the reports I read I sent an email to Globester asking how long after they receive my credit card info and travel itinerary can I actually confirm the transaction with the airlines involved. They responded right away and told me that it happens as soon as they receive my info and that I can confirm directly with the airlines the next day. As long as I make a purchase a couple of months in advance of my actual departure, since I would be paying by credit card, I would have plenty of time to deal with any problems that might arise if they don't live up to their promise. Of course it's good to be cautious when you read bad reviews, but we all know that sometimes everything goes wrong with a hotel reservation or a meal at a restaurant, so why not assume the best instead of the worst until proven otherwise? I still think it's a good option. Other discount airfare internet bookers that gave me approximately the same price are.

http://www.atiflights.com

http://www.airfarestore.com

http://www.whentofly.com

Dear BrotherLeelove2004,

Mar-8-2009. Thank you for your post. We try our best to help our customers. Since Globester was launched in 2004 we have helped tens of thousands travelers with low prices.

Here is what actually happened in the case suggested here. We did end up getting this gentleman a flight after he had posted this review.

As we mentioned and you noticed that we try our best to make sure that we follow-up with our customers at the earliest.

So here is the REAL story:

Mr. T complains about poor customer service. He booked a ticket from an e-mail which bounced. We called him and found the correct e-mail. We have spent countless hours right since the minute he was a No-show on the flight trying to help him. We have taken his calls after office hours to help him best of our ability. After all the help, it is unfortunate that he posts a mail like this on the Internet. Mr. T missed the Flight and airline showed him as NO SHOW on the flight, which means he reached there when flight had left. He wanted us to put on the next flight, which of course was much higher. We told him that the ticket is not refundable (which he knew) and he can use the money towards a new flight with penalty (as per the fare rules). We also told him that it must be done shortly as if not done in time, airline can remove it from the system since it was a No Show and we can not do much. We have informed Mr. T every step of the way of the rules. But what he wants is for company to pay for him missing the flight. Below is what we told Mr. T in Aug-2008. He is now again requesting to change the date and of course airline changed the status and not much we can do. We understand Mr. T’s frustration but we have done every thing by the book.

We provided the ticket as we promised. We have spent hours helping him.

We have served over thousands of customers since we launched Globester in 2004. We are not perfect but we try our best to help our customers.

From: Globester Customer Service [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:48 AM
To: 'T’

Importance: High

Dear T,

You purchased a negotiated fare, which is cheaper as it has restrictions. To avoid any such issues, we actually tell on Purchase page as well as in the e-mail which is sent right after the booking is made that the tickets are non-refundable. As now mentioned to you a few times, that you can change the dates and for which we are trying to help as much as we can.

On your ticket, airline has posted a No-Show. Why airline did not let you board has nothing to do from us.

Now for the No-Show, airline can any time change the status. If that happens; you will loose all the money. To avoid that you should change the tickets at the earliest and re-issue tickets for future travel dates.

Negotiated fares restrict you to travel on certain class, for which airline has fares out only up to March 31. So we can not make a booking or re-issue a ticket for this fare after March 31.

Fares after March will come out in Aug/Sep time frame but by then you will loose the ticket if a new ticket is not issued. So we will advise you to pick a date before March 31st and use the tickets by then.

As from our perspective, we have followed up on things more than it is required from our end. We sold a valid ticket. We also mentioned that ticket is non-cancelable.

We surely understand your personal situation. We also do not have any choice on Airline rules and operations. Again, from our perspective we have done every thing by the book and open to help you under the rules of the ticket.

Please let us know if there are dates before March 31st, you would like to travel and we can check availability and tell you penalties and fare difference. Lastly, if the status on the ticket is changed, we will not be able to change the dates and you will loose all the money.

Regards,
Globester Support

Dear Travelerjan,

8-Mar-2009. As of this post in last 5 years, with over tens of thousands of customers, Globester have 3 unfavorable reviews.

1. Customer Credit Card Failed - We called and sent a mail. She posts that she never received them. She also missed that $4000 was never charged to the card.

2. Customer was No Show - Expected Globester to pay for the new flight and threatened to post bad review if we did not pay. We helped him at every step. Even after this post, we found a way to find him a flight for him. By fare rules, he had lost all the money.

3. Customer was stranded at the airport for Fake Tickets - Anonymous post. No one ever contacted us about this. Charge is frivolous and without any merit. One can not be in online business for 5 years doing any thing like this. It will be fraud and criminal offense. Regulators will shut any company down if it ever happened. Travel is regulated by State Attorney's Office.

We sincerely hope that you purchase a ticket from Globester and post your review of your experience.

Regards,
Globester Support

Dear Globster-

Thanks for the detailed follow-up explanation. I have sent you an email.

Regards,
Lee