CheapOair was founded in September 2005 as a budget travel service for US and Canadian travelers. Customers can find airfares for flights on major and smaller airline companies in North America, South America, Central America, Africa, Asia, Pacific, and the Indian sub-continent as well as discounted hotel reservations. Through their newsletter, the company offers safety tips and money-saving travel tips. CheapOair is the 5th largest online travel agency in the United States. Hitwise rated the site as one of the top ten travel websites three years in a row.
Services Offered
On the CheapOair website, customers can search for flight deals, hotel reservations, car rentals, and vacation deal discounts. The company’s best discount deals in each category are displayed prominently on the home page. Customers can search for both domestic and international destinations and can browse through travel guides for popular destinations. A very helpful drop-down option from the home page shows their top 25 travel deals. These deals show flights for under $199, 4-star hotels for under $99, a list of the top 50 destinations, and special deals on one-way and round-trip flights. CheapOair offers an “Important Travel Article” series that gives customers important information about vacation preparation, travel tips, travel safety, and articles regarding the different types of travel and how travelers might spend their leisure time once they reach their destination.
Reputation
Consumers can find out important information about a travel agency by checking out their rating with the Better Business Bureau. CheapOair is not an accredited BBB business. This could perhaps be because they have not sought BBB accreditation, as companies are under no obligation to do so. However, the BBB does have on file 518 service complaints filed during a 3-year time span. One of the major complaints, as reported by the BBB, was that once customers find a flight they want and enter their billing information, they are told that the flight is no longer available and offered a more expensive flight. There have also been complaints regarding the ability to receive refunds from the company. Once customers reach the airport, they are told that their reservation was never confirmed and end up having to pay a second time for their flight. C to the company’s credit, out of the over 500 complaints against the company; the Better Business Bureau only found that the company did not make a good-faith effort to resolve the issue in just five instances.
Advantages
Through the company website, customers can search multiple computer reservation system databases through one search. The results display up to 200 matches based on the city pair searched. CheapOair offers a low-fare guarantee to its customers. Coupon codes are always available to travelers. The coupons are promotional discount codes that customers can enter when booking flights. One such code offers $100 off a business or first class fare. This is a maximum discount of $20 per person on tickets valued at over $2,000. They offer special deals on hotel reservations such as free room upgrades and free night stays. Other discounts offered by the travel agency include discounted military fares, student fares, last minute flights, and discounts on “round-the-world” airfare tickets.
Disadvantages
In a search for “CheapOair Review” on any search engine, you will find both positive and negative customer experiences. They tend to either be very positive or very negative. The biggest complaint of customers was the failure of the company to disclose how much they charge in fees. While the company offers a “lowest price guarantee,” the guarantee is only good for $10 to customers who find a cheaper flight or hotel reservation price elsewhere. One customer reported that he was charged a $535 cancellation fee for a $2,271 flight. While customers expect to pay cancellation fees on airline flights due to the travel company trying to recoup lost revenue, this does seem a bit steep.
Perhaps CheapOair should disclose more information to customers upfront about their cancellation fees and be clearer regarding the discounts they offer. If customers read the fine print at the bottom of the home page concerning discounts, they may find it a bit confusing. Apart from the confusing language regarding discounts offered, there is also a statement saying that discounts may be changed or discontinued at any time without prior notice.
The name of the travel agency, CheapOair, is a bit misleading. While they do offer travelers some advantages, they are not the cheapest travel service out there as their name would lead customers to believe. Both Priceline.com and Hotwire.com have travel rates comparable to CheapOair.
