Really angry with their booking system which gave me a flight option which then required paying another 95 Euros at the airport. The flight was not direct, it went through Milan and arrived there at 00:20 and the next flight was at 07:45. A long time to wait overnight, but I thought I'd sleep in the airport and it was the cheapest flight option. What I failed to notice was that in the flight details it said the first flight arrived in one airport, and the second flight left from another. This wouldn't be too much of a problem during the day, a bit of a surprise maybe, and a 15 Euro bus from one airport to the other. But at gone midnight there were no buses and the airport was closing so there were no staff around to help me. I don't speak Italian and had no Euros on me as I wasn't expecting to need them. Luckily my card worked at the cashpoint and I had to get a taxi from one airport to the other, costing me 95 Euros.
Contacting Bravofly they have dismissed my complaint because the booking details do state the different airports. Which is true. However in my opinion there should have been a big flashing red warning that booking these flights would require a 95 Euro transfer. It was an easy thing to miss when you are not expecting the flights to be in different airports, I didn't think to check and I'm guessing other people would easily make the same mistake. Or, really, these sorts of flights shouldn't even be on offer. Who would knowingly book a flight that required such an expensive taxi transfer?! If I book a flight from one place to the next I expect my flights to get me there, without me having to pay to travel inbetween as well.
That sounds like it was probably rather inconvenient.
Bravofly is only a search engine as far as I know. As such it will bring up every possible combination to get you from A to B, whether direct or indirect. Some flights will depart and land at different UK airports. Others, as you have found, will even involve a change of airport in the middle of your journey.
Obviously the cheapest ones are the ones that involve some messing around in a lot of cases.
The routing details are clearly laid out after you have selected your flights and before you enter your details.
I don't see any problem with offering all combinations of routing as it offers more choice. The important thing is to double check all details before accepting the terms and conditions and parting with any money. I don't really think Bravofly have done anything wrong in this instance.
Bravofly is only a search engine as far as I know. As such it will bring up every possible combination to get you from A to B, whether direct or indirect. Some flights will depart and land at different UK airports. Others, as you have found, will even involve a change of airport in the middle of your journey.
Obviously the cheapest ones are the ones that involve some messing around in a lot of cases.
The routing details are clearly laid out after you have selected your flights and before you enter your details.
I don't see any problem with offering all combinations of routing as it offers more choice. The important thing is to double check all details before accepting the terms and conditions and parting with any money. I don't really think Bravofly have done anything wrong in this instance.
This was their point. And I admit I should have spotted the different airports. But I do think that if the itinerary requires an expensive transfer then it should be stated. My booking did say "Please note that you will return to a different airport than the airport from which you departed: the flight departs from London EN Heathrow and arrives to London EN City." If it is going to make sure I am aware that my inbound and outbound flights are to different airports, surely it would be even more helpful to make sure I have noticed that the indirect flight requires a transfer and advise me to check how to travel between the two.
Sorry, but you do state that all the details were in your paperwork... a bit of logic would have told me that if I arrived at airport A) at 00:20 hrs and my next flight was from airport B) at 07:45 hrs then at that time of night it would be unlikely that public transport would be running...
It's another lesson in "Read the paperwork carefully"
ATB,J.
It's another lesson in "Read the paperwork carefully"
ATB,J.
Well, I think people should be warned to check for this with Bravofly. I have traveled all over the world and been on loads of cheap flights that are hardly ever direct to keep cost downs, and I have never known a flight option involve an airport transfer before. I didn't know to check the flight specifics, just saw Tunisia-Milan-London and the times and booked. Personally I think people should be warned of potential extra costs like this in case they also hadn't noticed. It would be like hiding an extra cost in the terms & conditions. Sure, we should have read them, but who does.
Aimee
You say you didn't know to check the flight specifics, just saw Tunisia-Milan-London and the times and booked.
The specifics are at the top of the screen. After you have decided your flight and press 'book' on the first screen it takes you to the next one. At the top of there is a box headed flight information with the details, Airline, flight numbers, departure airport/times and arrival airport/times. Below that is the pricing.
Even on the first screen, if you click on details, just under the different flights, it brings them all up there as well.
I don't think Bravofly are hiding anything. I really do think it is just a case of making sure that all details are read properly. They aren't hiding these details.
You say you didn't know to check the flight specifics, just saw Tunisia-Milan-London and the times and booked.
The specifics are at the top of the screen. After you have decided your flight and press 'book' on the first screen it takes you to the next one. At the top of there is a box headed flight information with the details, Airline, flight numbers, departure airport/times and arrival airport/times. Below that is the pricing.
Even on the first screen, if you click on details, just under the different flights, it brings them all up there as well.
I don't think Bravofly are hiding anything. I really do think it is just a case of making sure that all details are read properly. They aren't hiding these details.
to check what happens I've just done the London - Tunis query for some dates in January and as stated it came up with the stupid Alitalia via Milan and change airports route. But it's quite clear that the airport names are different as soon as you look at the details.
But Bravo may be hiding something else....
I also did the same query with Alitalia direct - and they offer a simpler and faster Rome connection for less!!
Just in case it was a fluke I've also checked some flights I'm actually looking at for December to Munich and they are no cheaper than booking direct either.
So what's the point of Bravo???
But Bravo may be hiding something else....
I also did the same query with Alitalia direct - and they offer a simpler and faster Rome connection for less!!
Just in case it was a fluke I've also checked some flights I'm actually looking at for December to Munich and they are no cheaper than booking direct either.
So what's the point of Bravo???
The Alitalia Rome connection comes up on Bravofly as well but I haven't compared prices.
I think search engines like Bravo exist because some people think that they are bound to get a better deal by using them. Also it is easier than going through the individual websites.
I think search engines like Bravo exist because some people think that they are bound to get a better deal by using them. Also it is easier than going through the individual websites.
Bravo via Rome were £20 dearer than Alitalia booked direct.
Skyscanner came up with Bravo as only the 6th cheapest agent for that particular query.
Anyone know who they are? the server seems to be based in Chiasso in Switzerland in a building that backs up to the Italian border fence.
Skyscanner came up with Bravo as only the 6th cheapest agent for that particular query.
Anyone know who they are? the server seems to be based in Chiasso in Switzerland in a building that backs up to the Italian border fence.
I've seen that - it lists all their other names but not who exactly they are and the bit about customer service being contracted out is hardly reassuring. It says they are based in Amsterdam but if you go to the T&Cs it says they are a Swiss registered company based at the address in Chiasso.
Dear AimeeB83,
We are very sorry for the troubles you experienced during your travels.
Our main priority is to provide our customers with the best offers available. In order to give you the opportunity to fly at lowest price possible, we propose flight combinations that may not necessarily be the most convenient ones. We would like to add that during the purchase process we explicitly show all flight details, that is to say that at each step, we show the flight number you are booking, the flight schedule, and the airport(s) you will be departing from and where you will be arriving. We do our best to make it clear what it is you are purchasing. We agree that what happened to you was unfortunate, and we would like to thank you for your useful suggestion. This allows us to understand that the information we provide is complete, but that there is still some room for improvement on our website. We continuously work to make positive changes to our website so that it is more user-friendly and we will take your concerns into consideration because we do want to make the booking process easier and clearer.
Best regards, Bravofly
We are very sorry for the troubles you experienced during your travels.
Our main priority is to provide our customers with the best offers available. In order to give you the opportunity to fly at lowest price possible, we propose flight combinations that may not necessarily be the most convenient ones. We would like to add that during the purchase process we explicitly show all flight details, that is to say that at each step, we show the flight number you are booking, the flight schedule, and the airport(s) you will be departing from and where you will be arriving. We do our best to make it clear what it is you are purchasing. We agree that what happened to you was unfortunate, and we would like to thank you for your useful suggestion. This allows us to understand that the information we provide is complete, but that there is still some room for improvement on our website. We continuously work to make positive changes to our website so that it is more user-friendly and we will take your concerns into consideration because we do want to make the booking process easier and clearer.
Best regards, Bravofly
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