Thanks for your reply Lex and based on that reply only , at least how it applies to me, the 'always book direct with the airline advice', is not something that should be set in stone.

There are reputable agents, who can sometimes undercut an airlines own fare and offer a viable alternative to booking direct with the airlines, especially when purchasing highly restricted tickets, which most of the cheap ones are.

Was only looking at Opodo last night and to my surprise found identical Emirates flight to India £120 more than booking direct with Emirates. Also Emirates do not charge any credit card charges.

Getting back to your original question agree with Lex about cancelled flights. Last month I had a flight cancelled at short notice. The airline, Tunisair, following correct procedures and offered anyone who didnt want to travel a full refund. Only problem was a couple of people who had booked through a third party agent, had to request refund through their agent and this involved admin fees.

Agree with you music that you have to way up the pros and cons and decide if price difference is worth it.

ah, ok .thanks wandering star, that adds a few more brownie points to the booking direct is always best veiwpoint.

Though would i be right in thinking that many decent agents wouldn't charge this admin fee and may also resolve any situation to your satisfaction as well as the airline themselves?

"Thanks for your reply Lex and based on that reply only , at least how it applies to me, the 'always book direct with the airline advice', is not something that should be set in stone."

I don't disagree, it's more about knowing the risks. I've used 3rd party bookers in the past myself and would do so again given the right circumstances.

Yes indeed sure there are many good agents who would help you. I have also booked with Opodo in the past but fortunately never had to make any amendments or had any problems with flights. So no idea what their customer service is like. Its a bit like insurance companies, you never know who are the good ones until you need to make a claim.

Customer service might be an issue as well. Booking through a website means that if things go wrong you are always going to be dealing with a call centre - and given they no doubt have other clients to deal with, there is always the chances of some delays.

At least going direct with airlines, this means you can always use a local office where available too.

So what am i missing here and what would i potentially gain by paying an extra 28 euro and booking direct? Thanks.

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read this thread from today tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k56160…

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William H

Your last post was utter rubbish