Flights to USA via a third party booking agent?

[coldflange]

Help!!!

I need to get to California this weekend - and can't find flights without prices that make me squirm.

I have found flights with Virgin Atlantic -but they are sold through Budget Air. The price is half of that on VA own website.

In the past I would always have booked direct with the airline - but these will save us a LOT of money. (4 passengers)

Any advice? How do they get the prices low?

I'm unsure myself how the process works, if its like those 3rd party booking sites for hotels they hold a certain number of rooms that they can sell slightly cheaper?

I'd feel comfortable booking as long as they were ATOL covered and you pay by credit card for extra protection.

I booked a multi-stop trip through My Tailor Made holiday which was far cheaper than going through the main BA/United sites and they have been great so far.

Reviews are pretty mixed - either fantastic or awful. I haven't delved into the user details of the 5 star ones.

uk.trustpilot.com/review/budgetair.co.uk

Honestly I would be questioning why Budget Air are so cheap if nobody else, not even the airline, are close. That would probably be enough to put me off.

Have you looked at flights that depart from Europe instead? Taxes etc may make it cheaper even counting the cost of getting there. Try the big flag carriers - KLM, Lufthansa, Air France. Also Norwegian, Aer Lingus

Book direct, cheap is not always cheerful. Why are they so cheap too, your suspicions should be raised here.

Booking last minute travel is going to be expensive no matter what.

Thanks for replies.

I am suspicious of the cheaper flights - although they are still £900 pp.

I am struggling to fork out £4,500 justfot flights atm though.

I'll keep looking

Does being a member of IATA count for anything ?

Random thought OP, but have you looked to see if there are any last minute package deals? Sometimes they do come in cheaper than flight only.

Or, can 1-2 of you make an advance trip with the others following at a cheaper date?

I booked.

Ended up paying a LOT but directly from an airline - so I don't have to worry about it.

I usually book well in advance but this time it was unavoidable.

Glad you are sorted, safe travels.