Too Good to Be True? How to Spot Fake Airfare Deals Online
Too Good to Be True? How to Spot Fake Airfare Deals Online - Beware of Bait and Switch Tactics
One common tactic used by scammers is known as "bait and switch". This involves advertising an extremely low price on a flight in order to lure customers in. However, when a customer goes to book the flight, they are told the advertised price is no longer available. The scammer will then try to upsell the customer to a more expensive flight option.
There are a few ways scammers execute this bait and switch strategy. One way is by advertising prices only available on specific travel dates that have very limited availability. For instance, they may promote a $199 roundtrip fare to Hawaii that is only available for midweek travel during the least desirable week of the year. Most travelers would not actually be able to take advantage of such a narrowly available deal.
Another bait and switch approach is to advertise prices that are not reflective of the true base airfare. Scammers may promote fares that don't include taxes and fees to make the price seem artificially low. When travelers go to book, the base price suddenly jumps up by hundreds of dollars once taxes and fees are added.
Also watch out for too good to be true promotions for "free companion tickets" or massive discounts on additional passengers. Oftentimes there are major catches involved in these promotions, such as having to pay exorbitant fees and taxes on the "free" ticket.
What else is in this post?
- Too Good to Be True? How to Spot Fake Airfare Deals Online - Beware of Bait and Switch Tactics
- Too Good to Be True? How to Spot Fake Airfare Deals Online - Identifying Phantom Flights and Pricing Errors
Too Good to Be True? How to Spot Fake Airfare Deals Online - Identifying Phantom Flights and Pricing Errors
When searching for cheap airfares online, you may come across deals that seem too good to be true. Oftentimes, these ridiculously low prices are the result of phantom flights or pricing errors made by airlines and online travel agencies. Learning how to spot these fakes can save you time and frustration.
One telltale sign of a phantom flight is if you are unable to select specific seats or input passenger details when trying to book. Usually on legitimate flights, you can reserve particular seats if available. If the online booking process does not allow you to do this at all, it likely means the flight does not actually exist.
Extremely vague flight details are another red flag. If you cannot view the flight numbers, scheduled departure/arrival times, or aircraft type, the deal is questionable. Legitimate itineraries will provide this standard flight information.
Abnormally long or complex routings are also suspect. For instance, a flight from New York to London routing through multiple cities in South America likely indicates a technical glitch rather than a real fare. Use common sense to determine if the route makes logical geographical sense.