Hello,
I have been looking at flights from Marseille to Dubrovnik (one-way) for April 2019. I don't want any more than one stop, and I don't want to take all day to get there. I have found a perfect flight on Lufthansa. MyTrip.com has the least expensive airfare. It's about $100 per ticket cheaper than the other airfares. I read reviews for MyTrip.com, and they have received some positive reviews but also a lot of negative reviews, which makes me nervous about using them. Just wondering if anyone on this forum has used them, or heard anything about them.
Thank you!
I have been looking at flights from Marseille to Dubrovnik (one-way) for April 2019. I don't want any more than one stop, and I don't want to take all day to get there. I have found a perfect flight on Lufthansa. MyTrip.com has the least expensive airfare. It's about $100 per ticket cheaper than the other airfares. I read reviews for MyTrip.com, and they have received some positive reviews but also a lot of negative reviews, which makes me nervous about using them. Just wondering if anyone on this forum has used them, or heard anything about them.
Thank you!
Best bet is to purchase from the airline directly. If there is some third party offering a lower fare, get the exact itinerary details and call the airline; they will generally price match.
Most of the reviews I've seen on this company were negative.
Most of the reviews I've seen on this company were negative.
I seriously doubt LH will "pricematch" an airfare that was found on an online travel agents website, referred to here as a 3rd party offering. But you can try, it would be interesting to know if that works. I'm aware of pricematching possibilities with car rentals and hotels but airlines, that's a first. Maybe it is applicable to US airlines and US domestic or if an airfare is lowered after purchase.
I've read some of the negative reviews. Almost all of them was something to do with changing or cancelling flights.Once you book something you should consider it final, attempts to change or cancel will almost always be problematic no matter where you book.It seems that the slow response from Mytrip is an issue. But then some are sending 40+ chaser emails which does not help. People want cheapest airfares and shop around, find one, book it then expect the services of a personal travel agent to get their ticket changed or cancelled. It does not happen whether booking direct or via an OTA.
Another complaint was that the traveller wanted to change the saluation on their ticket. If you cannot select your own saluation from the dropdown list, booking direct will not help. In any case, there is no need to change the saluation if it wrong. Some even posted their booking references as part of a complaint. Some complained that the airline changed the schedule and wanted to know why. Another missed their flight then wanted to contact Mytrip to sort something else out, and it goes on.like this. Another failed to get a refund on a cancelled ticket because they thought they could get one but did not realise that a refund depends on the airfare rules. Booking direct would not avoid any of these complaints.
I will book direct with an airline if there is little or no difference in the air fare.
If there is a significant saving and the online travel agent fare is cheaper than that offered on the airline website, I will book with the online travel agent. But I don't book with any random one, it has to be one with the correct credentials/affiliations etc. MyTrip are an online travel agent based in Greece, they have an IATA licence. If you feel comfortable with that, there is no reason not to book with them.
I've read some of the negative reviews. Almost all of them was something to do with changing or cancelling flights.Once you book something you should consider it final, attempts to change or cancel will almost always be problematic no matter where you book.It seems that the slow response from Mytrip is an issue. But then some are sending 40+ chaser emails which does not help. People want cheapest airfares and shop around, find one, book it then expect the services of a personal travel agent to get their ticket changed or cancelled. It does not happen whether booking direct or via an OTA.
Another complaint was that the traveller wanted to change the saluation on their ticket. If you cannot select your own saluation from the dropdown list, booking direct will not help. In any case, there is no need to change the saluation if it wrong. Some even posted their booking references as part of a complaint. Some complained that the airline changed the schedule and wanted to know why. Another missed their flight then wanted to contact Mytrip to sort something else out, and it goes on.like this. Another failed to get a refund on a cancelled ticket because they thought they could get one but did not realise that a refund depends on the airfare rules. Booking direct would not avoid any of these complaints.
I will book direct with an airline if there is little or no difference in the air fare.
If there is a significant saving and the online travel agent fare is cheaper than that offered on the airline website, I will book with the online travel agent. But I don't book with any random one, it has to be one with the correct credentials/affiliations etc. MyTrip are an online travel agent based in Greece, they have an IATA licence. If you feel comfortable with that, there is no reason not to book with them.
I never dared take a ticket ferom a third party by my own will. I did it once by mistake and it was more expensive than going direct.
I have never understood why somebody could be cheaper than going direct, and am wary of this + as Odin I've rea tons of horror stories when it comes to modifications, inc modification of the name of the traveler.
So for 100$, I would not do it. Actually I'm looking to buy tickets myself and my wife found cheaper on a third party site. Until we went to the end of the process, just before clicking 'I agree' and there the price was not as cheap as it first occured due to some extracosts. So for me, it is a no.
I have never understood why somebody could be cheaper than going direct, and am wary of this + as Odin I've rea tons of horror stories when it comes to modifications, inc modification of the name of the traveler.
So for 100$, I would not do it. Actually I'm looking to buy tickets myself and my wife found cheaper on a third party site. Until we went to the end of the process, just before clicking 'I agree' and there the price was not as cheap as it first occured due to some extracosts. So for me, it is a no.
Thanks to everyone for their replies! I will call Lufthansa to ask if they can price match MyTrip's fare. As Odin states, they may not do it, but it is certainly worth a try.
When people talk about a third party, I assume they mean online booking companies such as CheapOAir, Travelocity, etc., right? I have used CheapOAir many times, and a few other places like Expedia or Hotwire, and I have never had problems with them. In fact, I just booked my trans-Atlantic flights for this trip through CheapOAir. I checked the airline's website first (Lufthansa), and their fare was almost $300 per ticket more than CheapOAir. I very rarely book directly with the airline these days. However, I was skeptical about MyTrip because I have never heard of them and read so many negative reviews.
I'll let you know what happens with LH when I call them.
Thanks so much!
When people talk about a third party, I assume they mean online booking companies such as CheapOAir, Travelocity, etc., right? I have used CheapOAir many times, and a few other places like Expedia or Hotwire, and I have never had problems with them. In fact, I just booked my trans-Atlantic flights for this trip through CheapOAir. I checked the airline's website first (Lufthansa), and their fare was almost $300 per ticket more than CheapOAir. I very rarely book directly with the airline these days. However, I was skeptical about MyTrip because I have never heard of them and read so many negative reviews.
I'll let you know what happens with LH when I call them.
Thanks so much!
I trust skyscanner.com for comparisons on inter-Europe fares. The website does not sell tickets itself but provides links to the airlines or agencies which do. It shows no non-stops on the route you want. Lufthansa's best offer is higher than some others, but if you choose cheapo Turkish, for instance, you will spend about three hours longer getting to your destination. Comparison shopping involves more than just looking at the bottom line; time and convenience are valuable too.
Southam, I agree with what you are saying. Time and convenience are valuable, too. I have noticed that Turkish Airlines have lower fares, but their schedules are not convenient for us. And I chose our trans-Atlantic flights not only based on the good airfare, but also on the lay-over times.
The only airline I have found that has non-stop flights to Croatia from Marseille is Ryan Air; however, they only fly to Zadar, and so far they are not posting any flights from Marseille to Zadar beyond this October. So not sure if they will be flying there. And if we did fly into Zadar, we would also have to backtrack because of where we want to go, and we would also need an additional flight from Dubrovnik to Ljubljana. For us, I think flying from Marseille to Dubrovnik makes the most sense, even though it's more expensive, which is what some people suggested on my other post.
The only airline I have found that has non-stop flights to Croatia from Marseille is Ryan Air; however, they only fly to Zadar, and so far they are not posting any flights from Marseille to Zadar beyond this October. So not sure if they will be flying there. And if we did fly into Zadar, we would also have to backtrack because of where we want to go, and we would also need an additional flight from Dubrovnik to Ljubljana. For us, I think flying from Marseille to Dubrovnik makes the most sense, even though it's more expensive, which is what some people suggested on my other post.
I called Lufthansa today, and they will NOT match MyTrip.com's price. However, LH's price decreased a bit so the price differential is about $60. I decided to make our reservations with a known entity (Lufthansa). Perhaps I am worrying too much about MyTrip.com, but at least I have peace of mind.
Many thanks to everyone who responded!
Many thanks to everyone who responded!
And it's difficult to put a price on peace of mind, KarenWoo!
The other thing to keep in mind is that with many third party bookers the price initially displayed is not the actual total cost, as during checkout they toss in additional fees, or tell you that the itinerary you selected is no longer available but this other (higher priced) one is...
For those who have had consistent good luck with third parties - mazel tov, enjoy! For anyone wondering, keep in mind the "peace of mind" premium.
The other thing to keep in mind is that with many third party bookers the price initially displayed is not the actual total cost, as during checkout they toss in additional fees, or tell you that the itinerary you selected is no longer available but this other (higher priced) one is...
For those who have had consistent good luck with third parties - mazel tov, enjoy! For anyone wondering, keep in mind the "peace of mind" premium.
Never use Mytrip, but I think you should look also at the airline directly.
Airlines don't bargain over the phone with people trying to get personal special prices, I can't imagine any airline doing that.
Back in the old days (decades ago), you could actually get discounted bulk tickets from certain travel agents that were cheaper than if you bought direct from the airline. I did it a couple times. That was pre-internet though, which I suspect might have had something to do with it as it wasn't as easy for the average person to buy airline tickets back then, or see all the options. SO I think airlines had extra seats they wanted to unload and used that method rather than lowering their price, I have no idea what that business model was or how it made sense but I remember it. And then you'd pay for them and not get the actual ticket until closer to the departure date. Of course that was wehn you couldn't print etickets.
That kind of thing disappeared quite a few years ago when airlines wanted you to buy directly from their websites although you still see that online now with places like mytrip.
Mytrip does charge you more if you want to check a bag than Lufthansa itself does, also. But otherwise, I think the main problems with that website appear to be if you want to make any change whatsoever to your ticket OR the airline does and you don't like it. In other words, any schedule change and you may be out of luck in dealing with them. Bur if it's a Lufthansa flight, they are probably not going to change the connection to be impossible, and if there is a slight time change, I presume you don't care.
I think somehow agencies like that get bulk tickets that wholesalers buy up and then can sell them cheaper than the airline direct to public does. I don't know how they do that for every flight they list, but I think that's the way they work. I wouldn't deal with such an agency but saving 100 euro (or 75 euro if you check a bag as they charge 25 euro more) isn't that important to me. If it is to you, I think if you go in ralizing you will get no customer service and cannot make any changes, etc., it may work. Or maybe they come back sometime before your flight and say they can't get your ticket and you end up having to pay more, I have no idea. I'd find out first WHEN you actually get possession of the ticket.
Back in the old days (decades ago), you could actually get discounted bulk tickets from certain travel agents that were cheaper than if you bought direct from the airline. I did it a couple times. That was pre-internet though, which I suspect might have had something to do with it as it wasn't as easy for the average person to buy airline tickets back then, or see all the options. SO I think airlines had extra seats they wanted to unload and used that method rather than lowering their price, I have no idea what that business model was or how it made sense but I remember it. And then you'd pay for them and not get the actual ticket until closer to the departure date. Of course that was wehn you couldn't print etickets.
That kind of thing disappeared quite a few years ago when airlines wanted you to buy directly from their websites although you still see that online now with places like mytrip.
Mytrip does charge you more if you want to check a bag than Lufthansa itself does, also. But otherwise, I think the main problems with that website appear to be if you want to make any change whatsoever to your ticket OR the airline does and you don't like it. In other words, any schedule change and you may be out of luck in dealing with them. Bur if it's a Lufthansa flight, they are probably not going to change the connection to be impossible, and if there is a slight time change, I presume you don't care.
I think somehow agencies like that get bulk tickets that wholesalers buy up and then can sell them cheaper than the airline direct to public does. I don't know how they do that for every flight they list, but I think that's the way they work. I wouldn't deal with such an agency but saving 100 euro (or 75 euro if you check a bag as they charge 25 euro more) isn't that important to me. If it is to you, I think if you go in ralizing you will get no customer service and cannot make any changes, etc., it may work. Or maybe they come back sometime before your flight and say they can't get your ticket and you end up having to pay more, I have no idea. I'd find out first WHEN you actually get possession of the ticket.
