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Typically I use hipmunk to quickly figure out what good connections and good prices are. Recently I saw that "unknown" websites like farestore or travelmerry are the lowest bidder by a huge margin.

Example: Boston<->London Aug/7-Aug/12 the "cheap" websites show prices that on "good airlines" (British, Lufthansa, Swiss) that are about half (or even less) what you find on "normal" websites (Expedia, Kayak) or at the airline. The price difference was drastic: 1000$+.

The cheap flights seem to be bookable, i.e. can get to the point where I type in my name and my credit card (which I didn't do).

Has anyone used these before? Are there for real or is this some sort scam?

P.S.: all these cheap sites all seem to have the logo "powered by skyscanner", getawayasap seem to be another of these sites

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    @pnuts: Ideally I expect "I have used them and it worked". The price differences seem to good to be true: $1000 on farestore, $3000 on Expedia. – Hilmar Jul 29 '16 at 21:31
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Note that many tickets you're buying on getawayasap are non-changeable (this means, at all - not even with fees), and might not include luggage.

Generally the tickets you buy through the most travel sites and from airlines directly are changeable (although with a fee). This means if you want to change a flight at any segment - for example you got sick and have to move the return leg - you can do so, by paying a fee and fare difference. This might not make sense financially (i.e. in US/EU domestic flights in some cases it is cheaper to simply forfeit the return and buy another one way), but for more expensive flights this is an option.

When you're buying a non-changeable ticket, this is not an option, and if you got sick, or missed a flight for the reason other than carrier's fault (i.e. it is not connecting flight), you will lose the remaining of your ticket.

Also when you're looking for a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific ticket on "normal" sites, the fares you got there typically include some free baggage allowance (one or two pieces depending on the airline). The fare you purchase from other sites might not include any, and if you happen to check a bag, the fee might eat up your savings.

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    Please consider expanding or adding more detail to that – blackbird Jul 30 '16 at 12:54
  • Sure. Please let me know if more information is needed? – George Y. Jul 30 '16 at 18:13
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    @GeorgeY.: is this based on conjecture or on actual knowledge? I am quite familiar with change rules and baggage fees but none of this would account even remotely for $1000 vs $3000 difference. – Hilmar Jul 30 '16 at 19:11
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    I'm not sure how/why these sites have worse fare conditions than the airlines' themselves – Berwyn Jul 30 '16 at 19:12
  • Alas, these days even the tickets you buy directly from an airline are likely to be unchangeable and include no luggage. – Kyralessa Jul 1 at 14:41

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