Featured image: As an aggregator, Skyscanner can help you find lower prices, especially when combining airlines  | Photo by  voronaman111 on Envato

Skyscanner can help you find great deals and mix-and-match airlines

by Carolyn Ray

While I prefer to book flights directly through an airline website, there are times when you need to cast a wider net to find the best routes and deals. Last November, I needed to book a multi-city trip from Vancouver to Mexico and back to Toronto for the holidays. When I looked for flights on Air Canada and Westjet, the cost to book one-way flights from each airline was appalling. But Skyscanner gave me the option to book a multi-airline trip affordably. Shazam!

Skyscanner is a meta search platform that aggregates options from airlines and travel agencies.  Unlike Expedia or booking.com, it does not book the flight, but it helps you find the best travel options available by offering a view of all options, including airlines you may not have considered. When you decide to book a flight or hotel, this happens on their platform, not Skyscanner’s. The reservation is made with the airline or travel agency directly, not with Skyscanner. (Skyscanner doesn’t ask for your credit card information either). Just recently, they have added hotels and packages, so that you can use their platform to plan entire trips.

Note: When you use the Skyscanner links on our website, JourneyWoman receives a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work. Find all of our booking resources here.

How does Skyscanner work?

When it comes to booking travel, there are two kinds of websites to find flights: aggregators like Skyscanner, Tripadvisor or Google Flights and OTAs (online travel agencies) engines like Booking.com, Expedia, CheapOAir, Priceline, etc. Each has a different business model, but the good news is that the airline gets charged, not the consumer. 

According to a recent Frommer’s study, Skyscanner came in at #2 on Frommer’s list among Aggregators (after Momondo/ Kayak). Frommer’s noted that Skyscanner includes a star rating for all third-party booking sites (and how many users rated it), which helps travellers vet unfamiliar sites.  

An aggregator is only as good as the number of sites it scours for prices, and Skyscanner, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, says it has more than 1,200 flight, hotel and car hire partners. It has over 110 million users in 180 countries and 33 languages.

Expert tips from Skyscanner

In January, we hosted a webinar with Gemma Jameison at Skyscanner to learn more about how to use this aggregator to save money. 

Some tips:

• When looking for deals, plan ahead and create a flight alert. You must have an account to do that. Sign in here.​
• Use the “Everywhere” search feature for flexible travel planning and options
• To get the best prices, plan and book early. Flight prices change dynamically, by the second.
• There is an outdated myth that Tuesdays are the best days — this is no longer true as airlines use complicated algorithms to increase prices depending on google searches or popular events, for example.
• Understanding flight routes can help in finding better deals.
• Savings can be found if you’re willing to have a longer layover, self-transfer (changing airports) or use different airlines.
• Make sure you always have travel insurance beyond credit card insurance – check prices on Insuremytrip here. 

Editorial note: JourneyWoman may earn revenue from this article from the company mentioned if you choose to purchase their product, but there is no cost to you for this. Our perspective is informed by our readers and our personal experiences, not influenced by advertisers. We wouldn’t recommend a product we haven’t used ourselves and will state if an article of this type is paid for or sponsored by a company, which it is not in this case. Read our disclaimer here. 

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