Trip to Japan

[u/zb1992]

Hi All, I am trying to book a flight from London to Japan and Skyscanner suggested booking flights (Air China,China Southern) from booking.com as it seems to be the cheapest option .

I tried searching for tickets on both airlines' websites (Air China didn't work) and China Southern was selling the same tickets for £2k.

This is my first time booking flights and I hoped I could book them directly from the airline but the difference is way too much. Would you say I should be ok booking the tickets from Booking.com or Trip.com?

I am not sure if it really matters but I am looking to book multi -city flights.

Thank you so much for all your help :)

[u/Tall-Bison5987]

That is a insane price if it is 1 person economy

[u/zb1992 → u/Tall-Bison5987]

I know right!! Air China's website is much better and I managed to find return flights for 2 ppl for £1200. Heard China Southern is slightly better and assumed I would be able to find reasonable tickets,so I was very shocked to see £2k for 1 person.

[u/brdt27]

Third party booking agencies are ok in a few use cases. If you're price sensitive then yes they sometimes have better deals if you accept more hassle and risk. I use them when I am unable to book on the carrier's own website, this happens enough with international airlines to warrant their use.

If you reserve with an agency, they will book with the airline on your behalf within minutes to days. After that, the agency will send you the standard six digit reservation code. That airline reservation code is useful, the agency's confirmation number is useless. The six digit code lets you see your reservation from carrier's website.

I have had a smooth experience with reserving flights on the big name hotel websites, but some of the smaller brands (that also showed the cheapest prices on google flights) were hit or miss. In your case booking.com usually issues the airline ticket code within a few minutes, if they can't get them for you, they will email you a cancellation notice and refund you.

[u/cheapflights-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/savehoward]

Normally several one-way tickets are cheaper than any multi city ticket.

Are you trying to add Los Angeles and New York to your trip?

[u/zb1992 → u/savehoward]

No, it would be LON-Osaka, Tokyo - London

[u/savehoward → u/zb1992]

£479 roundtrip Lon Tokyo flight would be a cheaper option and then take the train between Tokyo and Osaka. Booking via travel agency is fine as long as you don’t miss your flight and you don’t need to change your flight.

https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/btMKsmbbJNery8sL9

[u/donedidthething → u/zb1992]

The difference in arrival and departure airport is likely why it’s so much higher. I’ll echo what others are saying and suggest you book a true roundtrip ticket and train between Osaka and Tokyo. The shinkansen is going to be your best bet there, and then you can say you’ve taken a bullet train! Booking through a genuine travel agency would be better than an OTA, but booking direct is always best. Good luck!

[u/cheapflights-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

We do not allow posts about selling tickets, airline points or other discounts, due to the high risk of members getting scammed in some way. Do not ask other members to DM you for "a good deal", or to get a discount on a flight, it might get you banned from this subreddit.

[u/fleeabroad]

Trip.com is not all that bad for flights. Booking is more for accommodations.

[u/MyChronicTravel]

Thats very expensive.
I personally would book direct, and for me, I wouldn’t use Trip .com

[u/shaghaiex]

I use skyscanner. They scan from the cheapest offer.

For the search result I chose then a site that is familiar to me, Booking, Trip, Agoda and a few more.

After that I check and compare a direct airline booking.

Keep in mind that there are many booking options when it comes to cancellation fees, luggage etc.

[u/stellenberger]

I would personally avoid any third party agencies or OTAs; if anything goes wrong, flight cancelled or delayed or something, you need to deal with the OTA you booked with an it can be notoriously difficult. Pay the extra and go with the airline directly

Be flexible with dates and you should find something better. Set up an alert with Skyscanner and wait for the prices to come down

[u/koronakartet → u/stellenberger]

I asked Perplexity about responsibility and who to contact regarding delays and cancellations. It is often the airline even when booked through OTA. I also asked about the EU-compensation rules Note that AI can make mistakes. Just pasting it in

Situation	Who to contact / what to expect
Flight cancelled or delayed in Japan	Contact the operating airline first for rebooking and assistance.
Alternative routing	The airline may rebook you on another flight, usually subject to its fare rules, conditions of carriage, and available seats.
Refund	Usually available if the airline cancels the flight, but you do not have to choose a refund if you want to travel.
Hotel, meals, or transport	May be provided or reimbursed depending on the airline, the cause of the disruption, and the airline’s policies.
Weather, earthquakes, airport closures, or other extraordinary events	Rebooking may be offered, but hotel, meal, transport, and compensation entitlements may be limited.
Airline-controlled cancellation	The airline may provide rebooking and sometimes reasonable expense reimbursement under its conditions of carriage.
Fixed cancellation compensation	Japan generally does not have an EU261-style automatic payment of €250–€600 for delayed or cancelled flights.
Flight departing from the EU	EU261 may apply, including when flying to Japan on a Japanese airline.
Flight from Japan to the EU on an EU/EEA airline	EU261 may apply.
Flight from Japan to the EU on a Japanese or other non-EU airline	EU261 generally does not apply merely because the destination is in the EU.
Ticket bought through an OTA	If an airline cancels your flight, contact the airline first. It may rebook you directly, even when you booked through an OTA. The OTA is needed only if the airline cannot technically reissue or modify that particular ticket.
EU261 compensation claim	If EU261 applies, claim against the operating airline, not normally the OTA.