[MrMichael]

Some intersting points ranging from those that have used Skylux, those that will, those that won’t, those that might and of course Skylux themselves. My advice is simple, and something I do every time I travel, book using a credit card. Simples.

[travelworld2]

I agree, but the problem is that if you buy your tickets from them, and there is a problem when you get to check in and you can’t fly, whilst you’ll get your money back from the credit card company, you may be stuck having to buy a new ticket at a vastly increased price…

My view is that something that looks too good to be true often is. Against that, there has been absolutely no coverage as yet of people having problems with Skylux. Maybe they are an exception to the rule…..

[LuganoPirate]

They seem to have been around for some time so I guess that provides some comfort. However, be warned, even if paying by credit card, not all countries have the same rules as the UK and don’t always refund in the case of the goods not being supplied or the company going bust.

I also looked at their terms while checking the price for a First Class flight MXP – JNB. The price looks good, about the same as Swiss charge via Zurich so that would not tempt me to try them, especially as they do not name the airline. What up me off is that the flights are non changeable and non refundable. That would be of no use at all to me!

[MartynSinclair]

If there was the slightest possibility that your itinerary was going to change down route, surely one of the disadvantages of dealing with ANY travel agent, let alone one that is internet based, is the difficulty in being able to contact them to make changes.

I remember being in BKK with a ticket booked directly with BA and because BA did not have a ticket office at the airport, it was extremely difficult to change a ticket on a bank holiday with out calling the UK.

[Carolannfud]

Hi Charles we have also been having conversations with skylux and wondered if they got back to you with a $ quote and if so, how much was it? We are flying Aus to Canada and are very tempted by their great business class prices, although some of the airlines they use would not be our first choice!

[K1ngston]

There was a response to my previous message I will respond to that as well as some of the other points raised since! I accept Simon is cynical I was, but then when i was doing one of my many trips UK-Aus and looked at the prices I decided to take the plunge and I have not been disappointed.

First trip with them was Thai there and back absolutely fine no problems no changes to be fair but the sales guy could not have been more helpful, they issued an invoice paid in USD and immediately went to the airline web page with the eticket number and finished the bookings through them when it came to seat choice etc

My flights were in J all the way the lay over in BKK was a little long but having saved all the money I was not complaining.

Second flight was with Singapore (SQ) there was a 17 hour layover there but it worked out fine as I had lunch and some drinks with friends stayed awake and slept the whole way down to BNE.

Again excellent service by now the sales guy is calling me by my first name we are exchanging emails and he is trying to be genuinely helpful. Flights back were with Thai as flights ex SIN do not get the great prices.

This trip I am currently on is all Thai I have mentioned I had communication relating to the unrest there I have since spoken to them again, I cannot find fault with them.

The downsides, don’t get miles but then I may have mentioned in one of my mails at the SQ lounge at LHR the woman insisted on taking my details and adding them to the booking, so maybe gained there also

You are able to change flights but there will be a cost but if you are travellers like me you will also have to do so when you travel with conventional agents or indeed the airlines.

As to Simon’s cynicism all I will add, is that I accept it, won’t try and change it but will just order another champagne when over the Indian Ocean on my way back and will toast him from my sleeper seat 🙂

[SimonS1]

I am pleased you had a good trip K1ngston. However I am sure you can appreciate why some people are cynical, particularly as all the other first time posters (like LyingFlat, AbovetheClouds,bnetravel etc) who suddenly appeared on here to say how good they were have just as quickly disappeared.

However as I said it’s good to hear you felt you got VFM.

Clearly there are trade offs along the way as you have highlighted – the long layovers for example. That points to some type of consolidator type model where the cheap flights are the ones selling less well. However if the choice of the airline and the schedule works for you then that’s great. Toasting someone over the Indian Ocean is one thing, of course waiting for 17 hours between flights is another.

[MartynSinclair]

Didn’t realise that you do not get avios/airmiles with skylux.

In my case I do manage to save thousands through avios use in Europe and the occasional longhaul….

[AlyssaFaden]

So I’m currently _trying_ to use SkyLux. Their prices are solid and I chanced across this forum as I was trying to determine if they were a scam or not. I decided to chance it as I saw nothing outright going against them (other than their great prices), but 4 days into the process and it is proving to be a frustrating experience. So much so that I am seriously thinking about spending 2k more per ticket just to do away with the hassle.

My representative was charming and seemed to know exactly what I wanted. The itinerary he came back with thought included half a dozen options, all of which effectively were the same flight plan, but with different ways of getting to airport #3. He had also altered by leaving day by-1 and my leaving day by+1, which isn’t what we discussed.

One of his options had me changing airports with just a 2hr layover; something that is an impossibility with the airports in question.

I wrote back – nicely – and gave him the pros and cons of the 6 variants of the same plan that he came up with, outlined what wasn’t important to me, and what was. I then offered some suggestions for alternative route ideas.

He wrote back and ignored my questions: “Have you found a better price elsewhere?” was his only response.

Taken aback I explained that the price was not the issue, but the flight plan was less than ideal (particularly as he had chosen different dates than I wanted), and I reiterated my questions/suggestions.

He didn’t respond.

Day +2 I pinged him.
Day +3 I decided he was not going to work out and I asked to speak to another representative or his manager.

He responded immediately with alternative flight options.

Expect when I started to go through them I realized that he had given me EXACTLY THE SAME flight options as 3 days prior. He didn’t change one thing.

So either I’m having a real unlucky time with SkyLux and I landed the wrong representative, or part of the reason why they give such a good price is by basically telling YOU how and when you are going to get where you want (and you get no input). I suspect both of these are true.

Also note that their homepage – after a search – will proclaim some outlandish price. It’s never true. They have a disclaimer at the bottom that my rep was way to quick to whip out, email, and highlight sections of when I queried about this. Their site will easily be a grand lower than the ACTUAL price that they will then come back and quote you, which makes their whole “discount code” totally bogus, because it’s because applied against a price that has nothing to do with the ACTUAL price that they’re going to be given.

At the time of writing I’m 4 days into this process. I’ve been given a great price for an itinerary that has a passing resemblance to the one that I actually wanted.

[SKYLUXAnswer]

Dear AlyssaFaden,

This is an official answer from SkyLux Travel. We sincerely apologize about any inconveniences. We are kindly asking you to provide us with information about the Travel Manager whose provided service was not acceptable for you, so we can take the necessary actions. Please send us the Travel Manager’s name and dates of your communication to e-mail address: <a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected].

We appreciate your feedback, both positive or negative, which encourages us to improve more, to deliver crucial cost savings and consistent professional service every step of the way.

In case, you haven’t booked your ticket yet, we can assign our best Travel Manager to work with you on your flight.

[travelworld2]

Have to say that the response which claims to be from Skylux doesn’t impress me greatly….

[Charles-P]

Is anybody really surprised? If it looks to good to be true it usually is.

[travelworld2]

Agreed. I do wish Business Traveller would check them out. They seem happy to accept their advertising revenue in the print edition of the magazine, after all…

[skywards]

I agree with you travelworld2. I’d like to see BT review them like they review a hotel or airline…from making that first phone call to checking in at the airport.

[MartynSinclair]

When travel plans go wrong and you need to get tickets re routed….. etc…. that will be the real test… especially when in different time zones.

Personally im happier buying direct from the airlines…..at least you only need to scream once!

[Author]

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