Are flight-comparison websites useless because they don't account for baggage?

[fuzzybabybunny]

I've been frustrated each time I go buy flights because the results from Skyscanner/Kayak/CheapOAir/whatever are never the price I end up paying because as soon as you add baggage at checkout the prices change.

Every airline charges differently for baggage. Some have 20kg of included checked baggage. Some have 15kg. Some don't include anything. So after you add, say, an 18kg bag, what showed up as the cheapest price on Skyscanner is no longer the cheapest price, and the worst part is that you won't know this until you're already in the checkout stage. Or even *after* the checkout stage, since a lot of airlines have you buy baggage after you've already booked a ticket...

For example, JetStar is notorious for this. They consistently show up as the cheapest option for all flights to and from Australia, but they don't give a menu of baggage prices beforehand on their website, and the only way to find baggage prices is to place a dummy order, in which you have to first enter your passenger information, flight date, destination, and origin. It basically kills the ability to easily price shop.

Am I missing anything?

 

[Svnla]

You think that was sucky? Wait until you have to fly on certain arlines that will weight your carry on items and they WILL charge you if your carry on items weight over the limit and the limit was very low (10-15 lbs or so IIIRC).

I am looking at you, Asiana.

 

[madoka]

You think that was sucky? Wait until you have to fly on certain arlines that will weight your carry on items and they WILL charge you if your carry on items weight over the limit and the limit was very low (10-15 lbs or so IIIRC).

I am looking at you, Asiana.

Since I'll be flying Asiana next week on an international flight, I just checked - it's 22 pounds.

 

[who?]

22lb.s is ten kilos, it's units confusion.

 

[MikeMike]

Do you not read the * attached with the tickets prior to checkout?

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart/
- Not sure on update frequency.

I fly SFO to JFK 4-6 times a year and SFO to CLE 2-3 times a year. It's domestic though and I don't get hassled even though i'm 99% certain my "personal item" is way oversized and my carry-on is technically 1" to big in each dimension, for almost all airlines.

 

[Exterous]

I wouldn't say useless but they have required more work for quite a while on flights overseas due to large differences in how baggage and seat assignments are handled. As a general rule I've been pretty successful in figuring out the baggage fees by googling "(insert carrier name) baggage fees" and reading as opposed to dummy bookings. The introduction on Basic Economy for the legacy carriers in the US also complicates things as those typically show up as regular economy seats despite lacking baggage allowances or seat assignments

Do you not read the * attached with the tickets prior to checkout?

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart/
- Not sure on update frequency.

I fly SFO to JFK 4-6 times a year and SFO to CLE 2-3 times a year. It's domestic though and I don't get hassled even though i'm 99% certain my "personal item" is way oversized and my carry-on is technically 1" to big in each dimension, for almost all airlines.

Unless I'm missing the additional information that link is pretty lacking in airlines. And the large domestic carriers don't really care much about your carry-ons but there are a fair number of international carriers that range from mildly care to blatantly militaristic about it.

 

[dullard]

Airlines have been trying to stop us from shopping around for the lowest possible price for years. This might finally be the straw that starts to break the camels back though.

Luckily, I have a sensible wife so between the two of us for a 17-day vacation we can fit all of our items into a single carry on bag and a purse. That helps a lot on avoiding baggage fees and the wasted 30 minutes waiting for your bag to come. Although, once that gave us the dreaded red sticker on the passport since the security guy didn't believe that a couple could travel on vacation with just one small bag. Hint: keep a green sticker on your passport at all times so you can remove the red ones.

The only time I ever almost had to pay a baggage fee was on Air Zimbabwe with one of those 10 kg weight limits. The guy who weighed me in told me a password to get past the next guy. I'm sure that I was supposed to slip him a dollar bill for the tip, but I didn't even think about it at the time. Then I just used the password to avoid paying the heavy bag fee.

 

[purbeast0]

When I go flight searching, I first check Southwest if it's national or going to a destination they go, and I typically will go with them, since I have points and my wife has a companion pass.

My next in line is to check United because I have points with them, as well as Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Next I check out Chase's site to see if I can just use points directly on there.

Then I will go check out google flights and see if there is anything on there that is a better deal. I don't really check other sites since they all pretty much have the same prices and I'm pretty sure they all use the same services on the backend. I just prefer Google's layout and simplicity.

 

[Svnla]

Since I'll be flying Asiana next week on an international flight, I just checked - it's 22 pounds.

I should say "Air Asia" because the limit is 7 kg or about 15 lbs TOTAL = "The total permitted weight for two (2) pieces must not exceed 7kg" = http://www.airasia.com/la/en/baggage-info/cabin-baggage.page

But I am still pissed off at Asiana about how the gate agent and his supervisor behaved at LAX last time I flew with them with two carry on bags. Not again. Japan Airline or ANA for me from then on. About the same price but no carry on weight limit and the agents are a lot nicer.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Idk I only fly first class so they always give me free checked bags.

 

[SKORPI0]

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3801089/airline-baggage-fees-chart/
http://www.farecompare.com/about/worldwide-baggage-fee-chart/#/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AirlineFees (extensive list by airline domestic and international)https://www.tripadvisor.com/AirlineFees

 

[madoka]

You think that was sucky? Wait until you have to fly on certain arlines that will weight your carry on items and they WILL charge you if your carry on items weight over the limit and the limit was very low (10-15 lbs or so IIIRC).

I am looking at you, Asiana.

For the record, I brought on board a 50 lb. backpack and a 50 lb. carry-on to my Asiana flight. They didn't say anything.

 

[zCypher]

Are flight-comparison websites useless

YES. I've been on a number of trips over the past year or two, and in every single case, I'm compared google.com/flights to the various different "flight-comparison websites". So far I have yet to encounter a better deal through one of those comparison sites. I keep searching in various places anyway cause you never know, but so far I have yet to save any money thanks to those sites. It's a given that the listed price doesn't include any extras and that not all airlines include any luggage in the listed price. Some airlines nickel and dime on everything.

Bottom line: no, there is no one-click solution to always find the best price, especially if you add *anything*. So nope, you're not missing anything, due diligence really can be a pain in the ass if you want to actually find the best deal.

 

[OverVolt]

United flights have some extra baggage sometimes.

 

[ponyo]

For the record, I brought on board a 50 lb. backpack and a 50 lb. carry-on to my Asiana flight. They didn't say anything.

Holy crap! Why? You can check two 50 pound bags for free on Asiana international flights.

 

[madoka]

Holy crap! Why? You can check two 50 pound bags for free on Asiana international flights.

Because I ALREADY checked in those two 50 lb. bags! After my Asian shopping spree, I had 200 pounds of luggage!

But I did manage to bring back my $100 handmade spoon and chopstick set.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Flight compare sites have never had lower fares for me anyway, so I stopped going to all of them. Instead I check and book directly with the airliner. Same goes with the hotels. If anything booming direct has been cheaper.