Is Skyscanner Legit?

I have always used Skyscanner to check for cheap flights along with Google Flights, Momondo and few others.

In this post, I am sharing my experience where I found what day and time  Skyscanner offers the cheapest rates. To get the cheapest air tickets, use this trick:

If dates and destinations are fixed, book tickets a couple of months in advance on a Wednesday, around 6-7pm CET.
If dates and destination depend on the cheapest available flight:

1. Instead of selecting specific dates, click on "Cheapest Month" under the whole month.
2. Select "Anywhere" instead of providing a specific destination.

Keep on reading to find some more tips and hacks on Skyscanner Flights.

SouthWest Low Calendar FareGoogle Flights HacksCheap Momondo Flights
Above articles may also help you find more discounts on flights

Table of Contents

Skyscanner Reviews & Ratings

Its always good to read 2-3 reviews before making any decision. Following are some of the trusted names in the travel review world & their ratings for Skyscanner.

You can click on the links and read the Sky scanner reviews in detail  

Trustpilot  
Sitejabber  
ReviewBlogTravel  

Is Skyscanner reliable?

Yes, Skyscanner is reliable. It scans multiple airlines and service providers to display the results.

Actual booking is done on the provider’s website, it could be another Online booking agent link Expedia, etc, or an Airline like United.

After booking, full responsibility is of the provider. Sky scanner does not take any responsibility.

If you understand that Skyscanner is just a “Cheap flight search engine” and not the booking agent, your answer to the question “is Skyscanner reliable” will be a definite Yes.

It’s like you Google on something and a clickbait link appears with some crappy information. Will you brand Google as “un-reliable” for it?

Rule of thumb is if a deal looks too good to be true, it may well turn out to be fake!!

In fact, Sky scanner keeps its security on top and have a Sky scanner bug bounty program where anyone can participate and get rewarded for finding bugs in its software!!

Now that ligitmacy question of Sky scanner is taken care of, lets deep dive into the features of skyscanner.

What is SkyScanner?

Sky scanner is an Online flight, hotel, car rental search platform that provides one of the cheapest rates in Flights, Hotels, and car rental.

Click To Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

Skyscanner is not an airline.

Based in Edinburgh (Scotland), this site is available in 30 languages and its user base is in millions.

SkyScanner Tips To Save Money On Flights

1. Skyscanner “Add near by airports”:

If you select this option, SkyScanner will display flights that are cheaper from your nearby airports. 

Eg. If you are booking from NewYork and you have selected “add near by ariports” option, Sky scanner will display flights from Newark Airport that is few hour drive from NewYork but may give you cheaper flights!

Do read Skyscanner Nearby Airport Hack For Cheap Flights

2. Skyscanner “Can’t decide where”:

If you are in a mood of adventure and would like to fly to what ever destination that is cheapest, Skyscanner have covered for you!

Just enter your Origin, select “Can’t decide where” and leave everything else as default.

It will pop up a list of countries along with the cost of flight!

Click To Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

3. Skyscanner cheapest month:

This is another flavor where your Origin and destination is fixed but you are fine with playing with dates, this option will give you the cheapest month & day to fly!

For details Do read Skyscanner Whole Month For cheap flights

4. Skyscanner Calendar view:

This is a view that will help you select the cheapest flight date in a month, just click and enjoy the cheapest flight!.

The calendar view helps you visualize how your plan dates look like.

5. Skyscanner graph view:

Another cool feature where you click on the shortest line on the graph to get the cheapest flight for that month.

If the skyscrapers of graph appeals more to you, this one is for you.

Click To Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

6. Skyscanner Alerts:

Not happy with the price? Set an alert an Skyscanner will email you once the price drop!!

Skyscanner Flight Tracker

In case your origin airport is fixed and you are fine with landing at any city in destination country, this one is for you!

Check out these options in detail in the section below.

Skyscanner Cheap Flights hacks

How To Book Flight On Skyscanner?

Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

Skyscanner flight booking: Step by step

To get the sky scanner cheap flight tickets

1. Browse to Skyscanner website

skyscanner review SkyScannerFlights.jpg

2. Click on the Flight tab for a flight search.

3. Select Round trip or single trip or multi city depending on your need

skyscanner booking review SkyScannerMulticity.jpg

Note: To get the cheapest rates, select “Add nearby airports” if you don’t mind driving to another airport.

4. Enter Origin and destination if you want to travel to any specific location else click “Can’t decide where?”

skyscaner Anywhere.jpg

5. In Dates, select “Whole Month” and then click on “Cheapest Month”.  Hit the Search button

skycanner WholeMonth.jpg

Check the list of countries and the cheapest rates available !!

skyskanner Destination.jpg

6. Expand the Country list and click on the price link

skyscanne Flights.jpg

Here also you have the option of checking the rates as calendar view or check the graph!!

7. Either way, select the cheapest rates and hit the show flights button

8. A list will be displayed with the price of the flight along with the carrier.

Depending on the option you clicked, it will take it to the airline booking page or will display a list of booking agents from where you can book.

sky scaner Booking.jpg

On clicking on Booking agent, you will be taken to the agent’s website. (Make sure you select a reliable agent)

skysanner Agents.jpg

Continue with the Skyscanner Flight booking process and enjoy your cheap air tickets!!

Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

Note: Selecting a Flexible flight option will bump up the ticket rates.

If you still feel rates are on the higher side, create alerts. When the rates reduce, you will get it in your email.

Check out this video to experience it out before even opening Sky scanner.

Do check Corona virus travel update before traveling

Skyscanner flights:

Sky scanner flights is known for their cheapest flights. I have noticed prices are cheapest on Sky scanner on Wednesdays around 5pm to 8pm CET.

You may find the cheapest rates if your travel day is between Tuesday to Thursday.

Sky scanner UKwww.skyscanner.net

Sky scanner Indiawww.skyscanner.co.in

Sky scanner Canadawww.skyscanner.ca

Sky scanner USAwww.skyscanner.com

Flight booking experience on Sky scanner was far better than Priceline. So much so that I do not want to even compare the two.

Either continue reading or check out this video on how to get the best out of Sky scanner flights.

Which SkyScanner feature is more beneficial for me?

Sometimes you may get overwhelmed with the features/ tips offered by Sky scanner, I do.

So here is my cheat sheet to decide when to use which feature. 

You may refer it as is or make your own decision by reading details of each hack further down this post.

Tip No.Tip NameWhen To Use
1Add Nearby AirportsYou are open to boarding flight from other nearby airports
2Can’t decide whereYou want to experiment with any destination that has the cheapest flights
3Cheapest MonthAny day/month is good if its cheap
4Calendar ViewYou have the travel month in mind and want to see the cheapest airfare
5Graph ViewYou understand Graphs better than other format of data
6AlertsYou want to be notified when ever the price drop so that you can plan around that
7Country SearchYou are good with landing in any city in the country of your choice

SkyScanner One Way

While searching for flights on skyscanner, you can select Return Journey or One way or Multi city from the options available on top.

At times skyscanner One way is cheap but that is pretty rare.

Sky scanner flights multi city

If your plan is such that you will land in one city but take the backward journey from another city, go with the sky scanner multi city option.

You may not get the tickets as cheap as the round way.

Skyscanner anywhere or Sky scanner random destination

This is an excellent feature from Sky scanner. If you are an adventurer and want to fly to a location that has the cheapest air fair, use this feature.

As explained in the beginning, if you just want to visit the place that has the cheapest flight ticket, select “Anywhere” in the destination. Also known as Sky scanner random destination.

It will pull out a list of places and present it in ascending order. Pick your favorite place and start packing your bags!!

Sky scanner app

You can download the Sky scanner flights app from the Play Store or App store or Microsoft store based on your mobile OS.

Its simple-to-use interface makes Sky scanner flights search very easy and gives the power in your hand to get cheap flights!!

Skyscanner Business class

You can book Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class or First class on skyscanner.

On the booking screen, just click on the “Cabin Class” and select the class you want to fly.

All the tips mentioned above are applicable for booking on skycanner business class as well.

Skyscanner Discount Code

As skyscanner is not a booking platform, its just a flight search engine, it does not have any discount code or skyscanner coupon.

You will be better off looking for discount code of the air carrier which you actually will be booking with after searching it on skyscanner.

Sky scanner flight International

Sky scanner can help you get the cheapest flight rates not only in domestic but International as well.

I found the cheapest International flights on Wednesdays around 6pm-8pm CET, while using Sky scanner.

How to cancel Skyscanner flight?

Skyscanner does not take any bookings, instead once you found the cheapest flight, it just directs you to the providers website.

So to answer your question, if the provider with whom you have booked supports cancellation, skyscanner will honor it else no.

Sky scanner flight status

Sky scanner does not have its own flights, it’s just an aggregator that takes you to the cheapest flight ticket provider. There is no “Flight Status” in Sky scanner.

To check the status of your flight, you will have to visit that particular airlines website.

Sky scanner Hotels:

You can book your hotel stay as well from this website. It scans various hotel providers like Booking.com, Trip.com, Hotels.com, Hyatt, Expedia, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, and many more.

 

sky skanner Hotel.jpg

Like any other Online Travel booking platform, Sky scanner has special business rates with the providers and it passes on some discounts to its customer while keeping their profits.

It has a very cool “loading” gif that brought a smile to my face while the hotel search was on. 

skysca HotelBooking.jpg

Another nice feature that makes Sky scanner different from other platforms is the map view.

 

skyscannet HotelBookingMap.jpg

Here also, all the bookings are done by the actual providers or other agents, Sky scanner’s job is just to take you to the site that is offering the cheapest hotel.

The hotel ratings displayed are that of TripAdvisor.

To compare Sky scanner Hotel booking with Priceline Hotel booking, I entered the same search criteria in both the sites and found Priceline rates were much higher.

Priceline Hotel Booking:

sky scanner review PricelineHotelBooking.jpg

 

PricelineSkyScanner.jpg

Sky scanner Hotel Booking:

 

skyscan HotelBooking.jpg

 

SkylinePriceline.jpg


The closest deal that Priceline hotel booking had was via its Pricebreaker Tool.

It means you get cheapest hotel in Sky scanner presented everytime!

Sky scanner rental Car:

You can rent a car at Sky scanner. It scans through 100’s of providers and presents options in front of you.

skyskaner CarRentalBooking.jpg

It groups the results as per the rate and you can book with any provider of your liking

scanner sky CarBookingProviders.jpg

I tried Sky scanner and Priceline car rental by providing the same inputs and found Priceline rates (image below) were almost double that of Sky scanner (image above).

skysacnner PricelineCarBooking.jpg

*Do compare yourself before making any decision  

Sky scanner website:

Skyscanner has both a website and app (iOS & Android). It has a very simple and intuitive interface making the booking very easy. 

Sky scanner customer service:

Surprise, Surprise… Sky scanner does not have customer service. They do not take reservations, instead, they direct you to the actual provider site with special rates.

Any queries about booking, you will have to connect with the actual service provider. 

The contact details will be sent by email once you are done with the booking.

For questions related to Sky scanner, read the articles published by them under various categories.

No chatbot or human to help here!!!

Sky scanner API

Do you want to create your own custom application using Sky scanner API (Application Programming Interface)? You can do that.

All the business logic will be handled by the api and you can create a UI on top of it with your branding!!

You will need the knowledge of programming to make use of this.

Caution while booking through Skyscanner

Sky scanner does not book tickets on its own, it gives you a list of cheap options that include the actual airline companies/hotels as well as agents.

If you find the cheapest option is with an agent you have not heard of, better google about it.

There have been few issues raised with Sky scanner where people booked and paid up the money but on reaching there, their ticket or booking turned out to be non-existent.

So every time after booking, go the the airline website for which you got tickets and check by entering your flight details.

Sky scanner has blacklisted many agents based on customer complaints but by no means it will return the money.

Sites like Skyscanner

In case for some reason you don’t like Skyscanner or want to visit multiple sites as different sites offer cheap flights on different days, here is a list of sites like skyscanner for you.

1. Google Flights: What better than the giant search engine itself for cheap flight search!

You will love the features offered by Google Flights, read the full Google Flight Review and How to Get cheap airfare using Google Flights

2. CheapOair: This one can sprig up a surprise anytime.

If you are not able to find the flights in your budget, check it on CheapOair and it may surprise you!

Hacks to get Cheap Flights using CheapOAir

3. Priceline Express Deals: This will give you the best rates if you need to fly within 15days.

Use this if you don’t mind flying at odd hours

Priceline Express Deals for Flight Tickets

FAQ’s:

Does Sky scanner give the cheapest tickets?

Each online providers have a particular day when its tickets are cheapest. 

Can I use Sky scanner in India?

Yes, Sky scanner is available for India, you need to browse to www.Skyscanner.co.in. You can apply all the techniques shared in this post to get cheap air tickets in India.

 Is Sky scanner best for flights?

 Is Sky scanner best for flights?
Skyscanner flight tickets is one of the best way for getting cheap airfare. Having said that, there are days when tickets are cheaper on other websites.

How is Sky scanner cheaper than Airlines?

Sky scanner searches multiple providers and displays the results. 
 
Airlines do offer some cheap tickets to aggregators as part of their business arrangement. 
 
Aggregators pass on part of the discount to the customers making the tickets cheaper than Airlines

Is it Ok to book through Sky scanner?

Sky scanner connects to the actual service providers and does not take any booking on itself. 
 
So when you search Sky scanner and click on the book, you are actually taken to the provider’s website and then all the responsibilities are of that provider.
 
Click To Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

What is the Difference between Sky scanner and other platforms?

Most of the Online booking platforms scan through the actual service providers but Sky scanner scans through the actual service providers along with other Online booking platforms to bring you the best deal.

Is Skyscanner legit?

Sky scanner has been around for a very long time now since 2002 to be precise. Whatever transactions you do, it’s with the booking agents or actual service provider.
 
It’s like you Google to buy something and but it from one of the results. If the stuff you bought turns out bad, do you blame Google or the seller?
 
Similarly, Sky scanner is a flight search engine, my verdict: Skyscanner is trustworthy and legit.

Skyscanner.com or Skyscanner.net?

Both are valid and legit sites. Skyscanner.com is for the US but if you try to open it from the UK, you will be re-directed to skyscanner.net

 Is Skyscanner round trip cheaper?

Mostly round trip are cheaper, it is true for all the booking platforms but at times two single tickets may be cheaper.
 
It may be a good idea to check round trip and single trip tickets while booking.

 Are Skyscanner prices accurate?

Skyscanner scraps all the online sites and presents the price to you. But sometimes you may notice the price displayed by Skyscanner is different that that quoted at actual booking site.
 
This happens if the provider have changed its price and it did not sync with Skyscanner database.

Is Skyscanner Airlines?

Skyscanner is not an Airlines, its an Online flight, Hotel and Car rental booking platform.

Yes, Sky scanner is available for India, you need to browse to www.Skyscanner.co.in. You can apply all the techniques shared in this post to get cheap air tickets in India.

Do Read to find which day and time is cheapest on Sky scanner and on what days it’s better to book with other providers.

You may want to check this video to get another perspective

 

Conclusion:

Sky scanner is one of the online platforms that can get you the cheapest flight. Hope you were able to get one. 

My Verdict: Sky scanner is a legit flight search engine. Hope you liked this review and hacks helped you to get cheap flights, hotels.

Click To Get Best Deals On Skyscanner flights

What is your review of Skyscanner?-Quora

Skyscanner Search Anywhere For Best Airfare from Your City