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What is Skyscanner?

Skyscanner is a flight search and comparison website. Rather than selling tickets itself, it gathers fares and routes from airlines and online travel agents, then lets you compare options in one place and click through to book with the provider. It also covers hotels, car hire and, in some markets, package-style trip planning.

Skyscanner

H3 How people use it

• Flexible-date travellers: the "everywhere" style search and whole-month price views help you spot cheaper destinations or dates when your plans are open.
• Price-checkers: if you already know the route, it is a quick way to see whether a fare you found elsewhere is competitive.
• Multi-leg trips: useful for comparing one-way and return combinations, though complex itineraries often need checking directly with the airline.

H3 What to watch

• Prices and availability come from third-party providers, so the fare you see may change or sell out before you finish booking.
• The cheapest result is not always the best: baggage, seat selection, change rules and airport transfers can make a slightly pricier fare better value.
• Booking direct with the airline can make changes and refunds simpler if something goes wrong.

A practical next step: search your route with fixed dates first to get a baseline, then repeat with flexible dates or nearby airports to see whether shifting your plans saves enough to matter. Before booking, confirm the total price including bags and check the provider's change and cancellation terms.

How do I find the cheapest flights on Skyscanner?

Start with flexible dates and "Everywhere" as your destination, then narrow down once you see where the low fares cluster.

A practical search routine

1. Search by month, not by day. Enter your origin and pick "Whole month" or the cheapest-month view. This shows which weeks are cheaper before you commit to dates.
2. Use "Everywhere" if your destination is open. It ranks destinations by price from your departure city, which is useful when the goal is a cheap trip rather than a specific place.
3. Filter rather than sort blindly. Apply stops, duration and departure-time filters first; the "cheapest" result is often a long multistop itinerary you would not actually book.
4. Check the whole trip, not the headline fare. A low base price can rise once cabin bags, seat selection or a self-transfer are added.
5. Compare nearby airports. Including alternative departure and arrival airports often changes the ranking substantially, especially in regions with dense airport networks.
6. Set a price alert. If your dates are fixed, an alert lets you watch the route instead of checking manually.

Trade-offs to weigh

A concrete example: a traveller flying London to Southeast Asia in shoulder season may find the cheapest fares on a Tuesday or Wednesday departure with a self-transfer in the Gulf. The saving is real, but a missed connection on separate tickets is the traveller's problem, not the airline's.

Next step

Run one flexible-date search and one fixed-date search on the same route, then compare the total cost including bags. If the difference is small, book the simpler itinerary directly with the airline; if it is large and your schedule allows, the flexible option is worth it. Skyscanner

Can I book flights directly through Skyscanner or does it redirect to travel agents?

You can do both on Skyscanner, but the booking itself is usually completed with an airline or a travel agent rather than with Skyscanner as the seller. Skyscanner is primarily a flight search and price-comparison engine: you enter your route and dates, it pulls together fares from many airlines and online travel agents, and then it hands you off to the provider you choose to finish the purchase. In some cases Skyscanner offers a direct booking option, but that depends on the route and the provider, so you should treat it as a comparison starting point rather than a single travel agency.

How the handoff typically works

1. You search a route on Skyscanner and see a list of results.
2. Each result shows the airline or agent selling that fare, plus the price and itinerary.
3. You click through to the provider's site or app.
4. You enter passenger details and pay on that provider's checkout.

What that means in practice

• The fare rules, baggage allowance and change policy come from the airline or agent you book with, not from Skyscanner.
• If something goes wrong after booking, your first point of contact is the company that issued the ticket.
• Prices can change between the search result and the provider's checkout, especially on busy routes.

A quick comparison

A useful next step: before you click through, check the provider's name and reviews, confirm the total price including bags and seats, and note whether the fare is refundable. If you want the simplest post-booking support, book directly with the airline when the price is close. If you want to compare many options quickly, use Skyscanner to shortlist, then verify on the provider's own site. You can also cross-check fares on Google Flights or KAYAK to see whether the deal holds up.

What should I do if my flight is delayed or cancelled after booking through Skyscanner?

If your flight is delayed or cancelled after booking through Skyscanner, contact the airline first. Skyscanner is a metasearch site: it compares fares and then sends you to an airline or travel agent to complete the booking. The company you actually paid is the one responsible for rebooking, refunds and disruption care, so check your confirmation email to see whether that was the airline or an online travel agency (OTA). Skyscanner

First steps

1. Check the airline's app or website. Delays and cancellations usually appear there before any email arrives. Use it to see rebooking options and whether the airline has already moved you to another flight.
2. Contact whoever issued your ticket. If you booked directly with the airline, call or use its chat. If you booked through an OTA, contact the OTA — the airline may refuse to deal with you directly on ticketing issues.
3. Get the disruption in writing. Ask for the reason for the delay or cancellation and keep boarding passes, receipts and screenshots. This matters if you later claim expenses or compensation.
4. Ask about your options. Depending on the reason and route, you may be entitled to a refund, a replacement flight, or both. Ask specifically which applies to your ticket type.
5. Keep your own backup plan. Look at alternative flights and routes yourself so you can suggest a workable option rather than accepting the first one offered.

Who to contact, by booking route

If you are stranded

Ask the airline or agent about meals, accommodation and transport to and from the airport. These depend on the cause of the disruption and local rules, so treat any general entitlement as something to confirm for your specific flight rather than assume. Keep every receipt and submit claims promptly.

Useful next step

Open your booking confirmation now and note the operating airline, the booking reference and the agency name. That single page tells you exactly who to call, and having it ready saves time when a disruption happens.

How does Skyscanner handle baggage allowance and extra fees when comparing airlines?

Skyscanner shows baggage allowances as part of each fare option, but the depth of detail depends on what the airline or travel agent supplies. You will typically see a cabin bag allowance and a checked bag allowance per fare, plus an indication when a fare includes no checked bag. Extra fees for seat selection, priority boarding or extra weight are usually not fully itemised at the comparison stage — you often see them when you click through to the airline or agent's own booking flow.

What this means in practice

• The headline price is the fare, not the total cost with bags. A cheaper fare with no checked bag can end up costing more than a slightly higher fare that includes one.
• Budget carriers and basic economy fares are the most likely to show a stripped-back allowance, because that is how they are sold.
• Baggage rules differ by route and by ticket type on the same airline, so the same carrier can show different allowances on different results.
• Because Skyscanner is a comparison layer rather than the seller, the final, binding allowance and fee schedule comes from the airline or agent at checkout.

A concrete scenario

Suppose you are flying London to Lisbon for a week and need one checked bag. Sort results and look at the baggage line on each fare before you compare prices. A fare at £60 with no checked bag plus a £35 bag fee is not cheaper than a £85 fare that includes one — and the second option usually lets you choose a seat too. If you are travelling carry-on only, the cheapest fare is often genuinely the cheapest, so the comparison is more straightforward.

Next step

Decide your baggage needs before you search, then filter or read the allowance on each result rather than after you have picked a price. If the allowance is unclear, open the fare details and confirm with the airline before paying. For airline-specific rules, the carrier's own site is the authoritative source — for example Ryanair or British Airways — and Skyscanner's own guidance sits at Skyscanner.

Is it possible to set up price alerts for specific routes on Skyscanner?

Yes. Skyscanner supports price alerts for specific routes, so you can track a particular origin-and-destination pair rather than watching fares manually.

H3 How it typically works

1. Search your route with your preferred dates (or "whole month"/"cheapest month" if you are flexible).
2. On the results page, look for the price alert option — often a toggle or bell icon near the fare summary.
3. Confirm the alert. Skyscanner then emails you when the price for that route changes.

H3 What to expect

• Route-level, not flight-level. The alert tracks the route you searched; it does not reserve a seat or lock a fare.
• Email-based. Alerts arrive in your inbox, so use an address you check regularly.
• Influenced by your search. Date range and cabin class affect what gets tracked, so set the search the way you actually intend to fly.
• No booking commitment. An alert is informational; you still book through Skyscanner or the provider it links to.

H3 A practical scenario Suppose you fly London to Lisbon most months and want to pounce when fares dip. Search that route, set an alert, then leave it running. When a notification arrives, compare the fare against your usual range before booking — a "low" alert is only useful if you know your baseline.

H3 Decision criterion Set alerts for routes you fly repeatedly or dates you can shift. For one-off, fixed-date trips, a single search plus a couple of manual checks may be enough.