Skyscanner flights: What every traveller must know

(Photo by Yassine Khalfalli on Unsplash)

Have you heard of Skyscanner? Have you tried it for finding cheap flights, hotels and car hire in a city you are visiting?

In this article, you will learn whether it’s worth it and why you should be careful when you make your travel plans.

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What is Skyscanner?

This is an online travel search engine, which is mostly used as a flight search engine but provides hotel booking and car hire services too.

There is a Skyscanner website, as well as an app, both free, with no hidden fees.

Skyscanner helps you save money by finding the cheapest flights for you, searching everywhere from airlines to online travel agents (OTAs). What’s amazing is that they display all search results for great deals in about 30 seconds after you hit Search. 

Some users even prefer Skyscanner over Google flights to book flights for budget airlines. The platform has one of the best comparison tools for selecting the cheapest flights in a set period.

However, note that usually, once you select a trip, you will be redirected to the third party’s website to make your booking there and not directly on Skyscanner’s website or app.

 

Why is Skyscanner great for booking flight tickets?

Skyscanner has several cool features which you can take advantage of to find the best deals at any time. Among them are:

• Price alerts - if you opt out of these, you will be sent a daily email notifying you when prices for your flight change. That way you’ll be able to pick just the right moment to book your ticket and save money.
• Everywhere search - if you are flexible or just want to travel anywhere spontaneously, please select this option.
• Cheapest month option - when you select “whole month” instead of a specific date, you’ll be able to see which month is the cheapest too and book accordingly.
• Map view - if you want to visualize your options all at once, you’ll definitely love this feature. It will display on the map cheap flights all around the world.
• Multi-city flight option - if you want to travel to more than one destination, you can book several flights at once (up to 6).

Apart from the great variety of features and filters, Skyscanner conveniently provides you with price estimates, all the while being transparent, without any additional fees.

Even if you aren’t looking to book a flight immediately, you can use it to get some great (and amazingly cheap!) travel ideas you might not have come up with otherwise.

Thanks to the mobile app, you can easily book flights on the go too.

 

What to be careful about when using Skyscanner

Of course, there are some things you should be careful about when searching for and booking Skyscanner flights.

1. Search in incognito mode - even though they claim that your search data isn't stored to artificially boost prices every time you search, experiences vary. Incognito mode enables you to use the platform in the long term.
2. Do some additional research - Skyscanner might not include some regional airlines that could actually save you money. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to check the official airlines’ websites in general, just to be sure you’re choosing the best deal.
3. The prices you see don’t include checked luggage - this is true most of the time, depending on the airline. Make sure you know exactly what you’re booking, to avoid paying extra if you need more than a carry-on bag.
4. Double-check the travel time - people have been unpleasantly surprised in the past when it turned out they’d booked a long-haul flight and/or would arrive the next day, so read everything carefully.
5. Avoid searching for return tickets - often, booking 2 separate one-way tickets is cheaper.
6. Add nearby airports - don’t forget to check this box because it might show a big difference in prices.
7. Find alternative routes - start by looking at which routes OUT of your destination are cheapest and then reverse to potentially find cheaper options.
8. Focus on itineraries with connections - they are less pleasant, but often much cheaper than direct flights.

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Is it safe to book flights with Skyscanner?

People often ask this question and the overall answer is yes.

However, Skyscanner’s site works with third-party ticket vendors and there can’t be 100% security guaranteed. It has happened in the past for some travellers to complain of having problems with a company called Go To Gate, which is now removed from Skyscanner’s database.

The main thing here is to be careful and report anything suspicious.

You should know that air passengers have certain rights and are protected by the law.

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Has there been a problem with your Skyscanner flights?

If your flight has been cancelled or delayed, check your flight delay compensation. SkyRefund will investigate on your behalf and help you claim it.