Today, 72% of English people choose to use a flight comparator before buying their plane tickets. The advantages are numerous since you can find low-cost flights, not to mention the fact that you will save more time analyzing the different offers. But choosing a good flight comparison service is not always easy, which is why we have prepared this complete guide for you.
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Our selection
"Skyscanner is one of the best online flight comparators. It is unbiased and shows you the best airfare deals, even the low cost ones. It…"
"It is one of the most used flight comparison sites for travelers. Kayak is a site that helps you easily search for the cheapest options."
"With Ulysses, a very reliable flight comparator, you can find the best flights, hotels, train tickets, plane tickets and car rentals easily."
"Momondo is a free flight comparison service known for its ease of navigation. It also offers several features. Transparent, it offers clear information and the…"
Skyscanner is one of the best online flight comparators. It is unbiased and shows you the best airfare deals, even the low cost ones. It is a free and easy to use tool.
See the siteSkyscanner is the pioneer in the field of online comparison of flight prices. It is also the leading reference, with over 80 million people using it. After just a few clicks, you'll see the best flight fares filtered from hundreds of airlines around the world. The offers are displayed according to your criteria (price, travel time, schedule, airport, stopover, etc.). You can then sort these results according to the selections it offers you: the cheapest, the best, the fastest...
Unlike some flight comparison sites, Skyscanner is very easy to use. It is a must-have platform, because it is fast, accurate and clear. Its transparency is one of its greatest assets. Indeed, it does not hide any offer and lists even the most low cost ones. Moreover, it is free. It can also propose you the best available offers if you have no idea where to travel. To do this, simply enter a departure city and click on the "Everywhere" option.
It is one of the most used flight comparison sites for travelers. Kayak is a site that helps you easily search for the cheapest options.
See the siteIf, when visiting most flight comparison sites, you end up clicking through to another site to make your reservation, that won't happen once you're on Kayak. The fares that appear on this site are excellent ways to save, as it can combine two tickets from different airlines for a round trip. In addition, it has many functional options namely "Explore" which allows you to search for a flight and destination that fits your budget.
It also has the "Worldwide" option, which makes it easy to find the cheapest destinations around the world at a low price. However, the comparator is only useful when your travel plans are very flexible. It is therefore less useful if you already have a specific flight to make. Moreover, its price results display for travel searches is only limited to 3 days before and after.
With Ulysses, a very reliable flight comparator, you can find the best flights, hotels, train tickets, plane tickets and car rentals easily.
See the siteCreated in 2017, Ulysses appeals to more than 25,000 travelers. This flight comparison site works with 180 airlines and analyzes over 700,000 airline tickets. The plus with this site is that when searching for a flight, it usually displays only the 3 most essential flights. This way, you don't have to waste your time choosing among several results. Moreover, the interface of the site does not display any advertisement.
But its most important advantage is that it does not hide hidden fees when you decide to buy your ticket. In short, for an insured trip at a low price, you no longer have to hesitate. Trust Ulysses completely. Also, the site promises you various advantages such as gift cards, payment facilities or even a €10 bonus for each sharing of your code (under conditions).
Momondo is a free flight comparison service known for its ease of navigation. It also offers several features. Transparent, it offers clear information and the best flight prices.
See the siteAny specific needs?
The best flight comparator in 2021
The best entry-level flight comparator
The best premium flight comparator
Your guide :
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| OUR SELECTION |
Skyscanner
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Kayak
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Ulysse
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Momondo
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Skyscanner is one of the best online flight comparators. It is unbiased and shows you the best airfare deals, even the low cost ones. It is a free and easy to use tool.
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It is one of the most used flight comparison sites for travelers. Kayak is a site that helps you easily search for the cheapest options.
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With Ulysses, a very reliable flight comparator, you can find the best flights, hotels, train tickets, plane tickets and car rentals easily.
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Momondo is a free flight comparison service known for its ease of navigation. It also offers several features. Transparent, it offers clear information and the best flight prices.
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Offers
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Flights / Hotels + Car rental
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Flights + Hotels + Car Rental
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Flights
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Flights + Accommodations + Cars + Activities
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Mobile version
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Customer service
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Contact by phone, by mail
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Contact by filling out form
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Online chat
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Contact by phone, email, post
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Site functionality
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Site design
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A longer flight will of course tire you out! This is why you should always check all the details of the flight before buying your ticket. Indeed, the only case where you cannot predict that the flight will be long is if the plane has to make a technical stop during the journey.
Stopovers also lengthen the flight time and can complicate your trip. An 8-hour stopover forces you to take a hotel or to sleep on the airport's chairs. To avoid these kinds of experiences, you should know in advance its exact duration before validating your reservation on a flight comparison site.
You should not think that you will necessarily get a good deal by buying a cheaper ticket. A low price can also hide the troubles or complications you may encounter during the trip (a flight with many stopovers for example). A higher price may mean that the trip will be more enjoyable.
Also be careful when paying for the flight, i.e. when validating. Thus, you should favor flight comparison sites that do not add extra fees (such as credit card fees or booking fees).
To avoid regretting the purchase of a cheap airline ticket, you should first obtain information on the airline's quality of service. Indeed, the quality differs from one company to another. The Gulf or Asian airlines stand out for example by the helpfulness and friendliness of their staff.
The food can also be a criterion to consider in your purchase decision. Its quality influences the price of the plane ticket. Check in advance if the meals offered by the company are suitable for you.
The type of aircraft guarantees comfort on board and the speed of the flight. Information on this is not usually visible on the flight comparison site, but rather on the airline it redirects you to. Opt for planes that have seats that are far enough apart to avoid tiring your feet. The recent Airbus models are the A380/A350/A340. While at Boeing, it's the 777/787 Dreamliner.
Customer reviews of airlines can be seen on some flight comparators. Generally speaking, they are evaluated by a system of scores out of five. This way, you can get some idea about the quality of service of each airline and choose your flight ticket well. Often, the best rated airlines are the most visible at the top of the page.
Accessing a flight comparison site is not enough to have a successful trip. Indeed, you also need to have the right method. For this, you need to follow the following points:
Everyone already knows this. Regardless of discounts and deals, planning your trip and booking your airfare is the best way to get discounted airfares.
If you notice that a flight booking website always offers high amounts every time you visit it, it has already automatically saved your cookies and server details on your first visit. To avoid this and successfully see discounted flights, you need to browse in private or incognito mode on Google Chrome. If you want to stay in normal mode, delete cookies or view the website on a different browser or from a different computer.
Flight fares between two departure airports, not too far apart geographically, to the same destination can differ widely. The price difference can be significant. If you can't get a good price from the airport closest to you, you may find better deals from another airport and travel there by train or cab on the day of departure.
Choosing to fly on the weekend is a bad idea if you're looking for cheap tickets. In general, flight fares go up on Fridays and down on Mondays or Tuesdays. Wednesdays and Thursdays are great days to get good deals.
Airline ticket prices typically plummet in January and February. It is more expensive during the summer, school vacation periods and holidays.
A flight comparison site is more known and more common. Accessing this type of platform to book your trip is a sure way to save more time. Indeed, you just have to insert the correct destination on the search bar of the site and you will have the possibility to check several prices on different airlines to find the one that suits you best.
The advantages
Disadvantages (according to travelers' complaints)
Instead of visiting several flight comparison sites, you can simply use an app. The principle of operation of a flight comparator application is quite simple. Indeed, after downloading, you just have to insert the destination of your choice and it is the application that takes care of analyzing and displaying the dates and cheaper flights.
The advantages
The disadvantages
A flight comparator does not aim to sell airline tickets. It simply displays them on its website or app. It does not advertise or persuade you to buy. Free and unbiased, its biggest advantage is that it allows you to compare tickets still available from most airlines. Moreover, its proposals are not limited and are almost exhaustive.
However, its use can cause some problems. Indeed, some flight comparison sites are not independent, but belong to airlines. As a result, they may only display tickets that are advantageous for these companies. In other words, they are not transparent and unbiased. On the other hand, other flight comparators hide low-cost tickets, as they often do not allow them to earn commissions.
Agencies can be interesting if you want to make a tourist trip and you have difficulties to organize it. The advantage of booking tickets through these agencies is that they offer you insurance (cancelled flights, conflicts in the visited country, natural disasters). They can guarantee that you will not encounter any complications during your stay and help you find solutions if this happens. They also suggest you the different activities to do in the destination country and the best restaurants.
Nevertheless, a travel agency is a commercial enterprise. Its objective is to sell a product. Therefore, they will only list travel offers that make them money. In other words, they only offer you tickets from the companies they work with. These offers are therefore marginal. In addition, the price of these tickets includes its commission and agency fees.
Finding a cheaper airline ticket on a flight comparison website is more sensible if you want to check out many offers before making your purchase decision. The online travel agency is only recommended for those who want to benefit from the advantages it guarantees.
This is a very practical tool. You will find all the information you need to book your flight in just one click.
The flight comparator allows you to compare flight prices from your home. It will also provide you with information on the duration and number of stopovers, departure and arrival times...
By creating an account and registering your data, the comparator will send its special offers to your e-mail address. You will be able to take advantage of its services to be always informed of the cheapest flights.
A comparator gives you a comparison of flight prices from a multitude of airlines. It makes it easy for you to find the cheapest, but reliable ones so you don't waste your money.
Even if you don't have a destination in mind, flight comparison sites still give you unlimited choices to meet all your needs. You can also find tickets even at the last minute.
Instead, select the entire month to find out when is the cheapest time to fly.
Never forget to use a few flight comparison websites before booking your flight tickets, even if you are in a hurry. Websites such as Skyscanner, Kayak and Momondo are there to provide a detailed list of flights to your chosen destination, as well as comparative fares offered by different airlines. Also avoid picking a specific date for your departure.
Find the most effective flight comparison sites
As airfare deals disappear quickly, focus on sites that offer easy-to-use tools that actually work, including real-time email alerts and proprietary search tools to find travel deals. Select sites that don't have subscription fees to use their flight search services.
Please note that most flight comparison sites do not allow you to modify your reservation
As flight comparison sites don't take payments or personal information, they don't have the ability to change or cancel reservations. So you have to contact the airline directly to make changes, request refunds, or for other customer service issues.
Get in the habit of comparing flights between flight comparators
Checking two or three flight comparison sites, you'll see that prices are different from one to the next. To see even more of a price difference, you can change the departure and return dates.
Compare flight prices directly on airline websites
When you find the right flight for you on a flight comparison site, don't hesitate to check the price at the airline level. Indeed, airlines may sometimes make mistakes when they post their fares, resulting in heavily discounted flights. This can happen for various reasons: currency conversion error, technical problem or human error.
To easily find a cheap ticket, you can :
To find a cheap flight, visit the flight comparison sites between Tuesday and Thursday. That's when airlines often offer reduced fees. It's even better to book a flight between midnight and 6am.
You can find a cheap flight almost every Wednesday and Thursday. But the best way is to make your reservation 3 months in advance. This way, you will be even more sure not to miss out on a cheap flight.
In most cases, you cannot make changes directly on the flight comparison site. To change your reservation, you must go directly to the travel agency's website to fill out a form and click on the cancellation or modification field. In addition, you can also contact the customer service of the travel agency to request a change or cancellation.
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