I have been searching for flights to Japan for late May to early June, and I keep noticing large price differences between third party websites and airline websites.
For example, I found a flight with Shenzhen Airlines listed at around €590 on a third party site, while the same flight on the airline’s official website was over €1400. I saw a similar case with China Eastern, where it was about €700 through a third party like Booking, but around €1500 directly from the airline.
From what I have read, booking directly with the airline is usually recommended, and some third party sites do not have the best reputation. That said, the price gap is significant.
Is there a clear reason why third party platforms can offer such lower prices? And is using a more established platform like Booking.com generally safe for international flight bookings, or is it still risky compared to booking direct?
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