How to Use Skyscanner to Find Cheap Flights

If you’ve ever spoken with friends before going on a sojourn from anywhere between Mexico and Timbuktu, the topic of how to get the best price has inevitably come up. But do you book directly with airlines? Or do you take the risks that come with booking travel with online travel agencies (OTAs)?

The good news is there’s a one-stop tool that can check both of these for you and find you the best price, though not necessarily the best service or cancellation options. That tool is Skyscanner, which acts as an aggregator of various flight options.

Skyscanner is similar to Google Flights, though the two tools serve slightly different purposes. Google shows airline-direct fares with fewer OTA listings. Skyscanner finds every online travel agency that is offering your desired route, often surfacing cheaper but sometimes less desirable options from a customer service standpoint. This makes it a great option to find cheap flights, but it isn’t without its problems.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Skyscanner and how you can best use it to find cheaper flights.

What Is Skyscanner?

Skyscanner isn’t itself an online travel agency. You make no bookings directly through it. Instead, it redirects you to a provider, sometimes the airline, more often a third-party online travel agency, to complete your purchase. 

Think of it as a farmer’s market, a place where you have your choice of vendors but have to settle up with each vendor individually instead of on Skyscanner itself.

The upside to this model is broader price discovery. Skyscanner scans the smallest, randomest OTAs alongside major players like Expedia. That means it might find rock-bottom fares that Google Flights or the airlines’ own algorithms miss. The downside to this is that some of these online travel agencies aren’t as reliable, or they have draconian cancellation and modification policies.

As always, whenever you are using a third-party platform, caveat emptor.

When to Use Skyscanner to Search for Flights

Skyscanner shines on short-haul flights where you don’t care about elite status or onboard perks. In particular, I think it’s the best for short-haul flights within Western Europe or Asia, think Madrid–Barcelona or Taipei-Shanghai. You’re looking for the cheapest way from A to B. Skyscanner compares budget carriers and legacy airlines in one view.

On the other hand, if you’re flexible, use the “whole month” or “cheapest month” search options to find the lowest fares. You can even search “Everywhere” as a destination to find cheap trips from your departure city. This feature is excellent for spontaneous or open-ended travelers. Who knows where it might lead you?

Lastly, use Skyscanner if you’re not interested in chasing miles, points, or airline elite status. Most flights booked through OTAs are still eligible for points earned, though the amounts are likely to be paltry if you’re trying to save money. But just remember, you can always add your frequent flyer number later, such as online, at check-in, or occasionally at the gate. 

Just remember the more basic the fare class, the more you’ll miss out on bonuses or elite-qualifying credits.

What to Watch Out For When Using Skyscanner

The first major issue which all the other potential problems of Skyscanner flow from is that it is ultimately an aggregator platform. That means it will find and share any online travel agency that has posted a fare, regardless of that company’s policies or procedures. 

Many less reputable online travel agencies “save money” by piecing together cheap fares that are not connected, meaning you could wind up at your destination without your luggage, or have a leg of the trip canceled. 

This would then force you to talk to that OTA instead of the airline, as you are not the airline’s final customer, the OTA who booked for you was, and they will often wash their hands of responsibility. There is a post on Reddit detailing exactly the problems this can entail, with further information. 

Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. There are many different aggregators of varying quality on Skyscanner, and fortunately, Skyscanner prompts you by rating the general quality of each one based on its customer service and ability to assist you:

As you can see, the flight itself is on Porter, but the various OTAs you’d purchase your flight through are providers such as Trip.com and BudgetAir.

Are these as good as the recommendations? Well, Skyscanner is owned by Trip Group, the parent company of Trip, so expect to see them pushed to the top. Don’t feel obligated to book just because the useful tool shoves one vendor to the top of the list!

One of the most annoying facets of Skyscanner is that the pricing can fluctuate from what’s stated, and also, a lot of incidental fees are never posted. For example, here is a round-trip flight search from Manchester to Prague:

We can see this ticket is priced at $328 on Skyscanner. But when we actually attempt to book it with easyJet, the price is £167 (GBP), or about $312 CAD. Not bad, right?

Well, wrong, as EasyJet is an ultra-low-cost carrier. If you want even something as modest as a carry-on bag, that’s £55, or about $103 CAD. This means, unless you’re the lightest traveller, the effective fare is about $100 higher. This will climb even higher if you need to purchase any additional add-ons, like a checked bag.

That being said, this isn’t the worst deal you could get. The price is, in fact, lower than what’s advertised, and as you’re booking directly with the airline, you would get better service than with an online travel agency. Therefore, Skyscanner has done its job of finding you the best price for these dates on the market.

The reason for this occasional disparity is that Skyscanner’s listings aren’t always live and can reflect limited data feeds from OTAs, which may not be representative of up-to-the-second prices. These so-called “ghost fares” are common enough, but Skyscanner itself seems unlikely to resolve the issue.

How to Use Skyscanner to Find Cheap Flights

Step 1: Start a Search

Visit Skyscanner.ca or open the mobile app to get started. You’ll need to login, as everything demands to know our data these days, so suck it up and provide your personal details to Skyscanner.

Then, enter your origin and destination. You can leave the destination blank and use “Everywhere” for flexible searches. For date flexibility, select “Whole Month,” and that’s the example we’ll use: from Taipei, Taiwan, to anywhere in Asia:

Step 2: Review & Filter

You’ll get a list of fares sorted by “Best” (price + speed) by default. Re-sort by “Cheapest” or “Fastest” if needed. Use filters to limit stops, departure times, airlines, or alliances. In this case, we’ll change to a one-way and see what we can find to the Philippines:

Step 3: Choose a Flight & Booking Platform

Click your preferred flight. Skyscanner shows a list of OTAs and airlines offering that itinerary. Check the star ratings and reviews. If the airline’s price is only slightly higher than the lowest price, consider booking directly with that airline for better support.

In this case, we’ll book a direct flight to Manila to avoid any online travel agency heartache:

In this case, we can see some pretty low-rated online travel agencies pricing the ticket at $58 CAD, but the airline itself is charging $83 CAD. I’d pay the extra $25 for peace of mind, but I’m sure there are more intrepid travelers who’d roll the dice to save a few bucks.

Step 4: Complete the Booking

Once on the OTA or airline’s site, double-check everything: name, dates, currency, baggage, etc. Enter your details and pay there. Once again: if there’s a problem, you’ll have to deal with that agency, not Skyscanner.

For what it’s worth, I can’t claim this Skytours site is filling me with additional undue confidence as I continue the booking flow. I’d definitely rather book directly with the airline for incrementally more, but hey, Skyscanner was at least useful to see what options are available.

How to Set Skyscanner Price Alerts

If you’re not ready to book your flight or just looking to have an idea for how low of a price you could pay, use the “Get Price Alerts” button. Enter your email, and Skyscanner will notify you when the fare rises or falls. 

This works well for tracking known routes on set dates, for example, this ludicrously expensive itinerary to and from Los Angeles from Toronto (which is like discount NYC), perhaps for a lovely Christmas party at Nakatomi Plaza.

This is one of the most handy features that is available, and we definitely recommend taking advantage of it while you are on your quest to save money on flights.

Conclusion

Skyscanner is a great tool when used carefully. It’s fast, flexible, and often surfaces budget options that other engines miss. But it’s not a one-click solution. You still need to vet the third-party platforms and watch for fare changes.

Use Skyscanner to compare prices across multiple carriers and online travel agencies, or for its extreme flexibility on dates or destinations. This is the perfect tool for the traveler who adventures light and wants to see as much of the world as possible for the lowest amount of money. It’s also the best way to book ultra-low-cost carriers for the minimum cost imaginable.

Try to avoid Skyscanner whenever you’re booking complex itineraries (as an OTA could burn you), or are seeking premium cabins (as you’ll be missing out on the many status, mileage, and customer service benefits of booking directly with the airline). And, of course, avoid them if you need your Air Canada Aeroplan Segment Qualifying Dollars or similar bonuses!

Ultimately, Skyscanner is a valuable addition to your flight-search toolkit. Just don’t expect it to do all the thinking for you.