Think Twice Before Booking Flights With Random Online Travel Agents

If you’ve ever searched for a flight on Google Flights, chances are you’ve spotted a price so low it made you pause, rub your eyes, and wonder if you’d just found the Holy Grail of cheap travel. Spoiler alert: you haven’t. Here’s the cold hard truth you need to know about booking flights using online travel agents

Some of those rock-bottom prices come from obscure online travel agents (OTAs) you’ve never heard of, and unfortunately, there’s often a good reason for that. We’ve recently heard of two friends who booked through dodgy agents listed on Google Flights. In both cases, the agents took payment and only got in touch hours later to say the ticket was “no longer available”. One of them was then asked to pay another £100 to be rebooked on a more expensive flight. It’s basically legalised pickpocketing.

The tickets, by the way, were never actually issued.

Eventually, they had to call their bank and cancel their credit card altogether, just to avoid any further phantom charges.

So here’s a simple rule of thumb: if the airfare looks too good to be true, it probably is.

How These Shady Agents Work

Let’s break this down. These sites often don’t have live inventory. Instead, they work on a “request to book” basis. So while the price might look available, all you’re doing is asking them to try and book it for you. And yes, they still take your money upfront.

Cue the dreaded follow-up email: “Unfortunately, that fare is no longer available, but we can offer you this exciting new fare for just £xxx more…”

It’s a bait-and-switch.

Even worse, if you decline their generous new price, some agents still hold onto your money for days (or weeks) before issuing a refund – if they refund at all. Some even charge a cancellation fee, despite the fact they failed to fulfil their end of the deal.

And don’t expect help if your plans change. You’ll likely be stuck with outsourced customer service, a confusing cancellation policy, and zero support from the airline, since they won’t want to deal with third-party bookings.

Red Flags To Watch Out For

• The website looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2010
• You’ve never heard of the company
• The price is wildly cheaper than everyone else
• Payment is taken immediately but the confirmation is vague
• The booking confirmation doesn’t include a ticket number or PNR

In other words: don’t risk it.

Top Tips To Protect Yourself

• Book directly with the airline whenever you can. If anything goes wrong, you’re dealing with the source, not a middleman in a different time zone.
• Use well-known travel agencies only – think Booking.com or Skyscanner’s own links (not the random partners at the bottom).
• Always pay with a credit card. Under the UK Consumer Credit Act (Section 75), your card provider is jointly liable for purchases over £100. That means you can usually claim your money back if something goes wrong.
• Be wary of urgency tactics. If a website says you’ve got “only 5 minutes left to book this fare”, it’s trying to rush you into a bad decision.

When booking flights that online travel agents list, double-check the company name and look for recent reviews – especially around refunds, hidden fees, and whether tickets were ever actually issued.

Real-Life Flight Booking Fails

We’ve heard more than a few horror stories:

• A friend paid for flights, received a PNR, and even selected seats – only to discover at the airport that no booking ever existed.
• Another traveller was told they had to pay a name change fee for a booking that hadn’t even been ticketed yet.
• One customer was marked as a no-show after the OTA failed to issue the ticket properly. That meant zero chance of a refund, and they had to rebook at the airport.

BG1 Verdict

Google Flights is a great tool for comparing routes and prices, but don’t treat it like a trusted marketplace. Some agents advertising there are playing fast and loose with your money. When in doubt, pay a little more and book direct with the airline – it’ll save you a world of stress if things go wrong.

And if you must use an OTA, stick to ones you’ve actually heard of.

Booking flights that online travel agents promote through search engines comes with risks – and in most cases, the tiny savings just aren’t worth the potential drama.

BG1 Tip

Look up unfamiliar travel agents on sites like Trustpilot or FlyerTalk before you book. If the top reviews mention refunds that never arrived or bookings that didn’t exist, you’ve got your answer. Close the tab, walk away, and spend that extra £40 on a G&T in the lounge instead.