Booking Terms of Service
Skyscanner Travel Service Terms and Conditions – May 2019
OK, we know that terms and conditions aren’t usually a fun read, but they are necessary. That’s why we want to make them as straightforward and clear as possible – so you understand exactly what you get when you book your travel with us.
One of the most important things to know is that these terms and conditions (“T&Cs”) only relate to the Skyscanner Travel Service. Skyscanner Travel Service is the latest addition to the Skyscanner family and is different to our other products because it allows you to book travel with us directly, rather than with an airline or other online travel agent. This means Skyscanner will take your booking and provide your customer care.
Just so you know, Skyscanner Travel Service is only available within the Skyscanner app.
Making a booking with ‘Skyscanner Travel Service’
If you’ve booked travel (such as a flight or hotel) through the Skyscanner Travel Service, then that’s what we call a ‘booking’ in these T&Cs. You’ll only ever get a booking confirmation from us when it’s a Skyscanner Travel Service booking. If your confirmation email is from another provider, the booking is with them instead.
When you make a booking, you enter into a contract with us – Skyscanner Travel Service – and also the provider (the airline, for example). This means your booking is also subject to that provider’s T&Cs.
While we don’t provide package holidays, we do sometimes provide ‘linked travel arrangements’, where you can book a flight and hotel from us around the same time.
For important information about our obligations under relevant “Package Travel Regulations”, please read our standard terms.
Traveller information
When you make a booking, it’s really important that all the information you give us is correct. Please double check all your travel details, such as making sure the traveller names you enter match those on the relevant passports/ID documents of the individuals travelling.
Be aware that the first person named in your booking is the lead passenger. This means they’re responsible for providing us with the information we need and accepting our T&Cs on behalf of everyone travelling.
Don’t worry – if you do make a mistake entering traveller details when booking, it’s not the end of the world. We never charge you for making reasonable changes to these details on your booking. The only times we may need to charge you are if you repeatedly make changes or need to remove or replace one or more people travelling.
If you need to get in touch to make a change, please contact us as soon as you can.
Terms and conditions that apply to your booking
Overall, there are three sets of T&Cs that apply to your booking:
- Skyscanner Travel Service T&Cs – you’re reading these right now, and these apply to all bookings
- Skyscanner’s website and app T&Cs and privacy policy.
- The provider’s T&Cs (or ‘conditions of carriage’) – you’ll find these in your booking confirmation email or via their website
Keep in mind that when you book travel (such as a flight or hotel) with Skyscanner Travel Service, it’s not Skyscanner that actually operates the airline or accommodation – a third party provider does. That’s why their own terms and conditions also apply, and they form a separate legal agreement between you and the provider. Please read these carefully. If you see anything you’re unsure about, please get in touch and we’ll happily clarify it for you.
Here’s where it gets a bit technical. When you make a booking with us, you’re effectively stating that you’re able to enter into a contract with us, and that you agree to all the different T&Cs that apply, as mentioned above and shared in your booking.
You’re also consenting to routine checks we need to carry out to make sure your booking isn’t fraudulent. At the same time, you’re also giving us permission to use your personal details (particularly your first name and surname) to create what we call a ‘virtual credit card’. This is what’s used to pay the provider, or other third parties, rather than using your own personal card details.
Receiving your flight tickets by email
Once you’ve successfully taken all the steps to make your booking and we’ve received payment, we’ll email you an e-ticket for each flight within your booking. This includes your unique booking reference number, which you’ll need to use when you check in. The booking process is only concluded when you’ve received this email.
It’s really important that you enter your email address carefully when you make a booking. If your contact details do change afterwards, please tell us straightaway so we can make sure you don’t miss any important messages, such as changes to your flight schedule.
Unfortunately, we can’t be responsible if anything goes wrong with your booking because you gave us an inaccurate email address.
If you don’t receive email confirmation within 24 hours of booking, please contact us immediately.
Travel documents and country entry requirements
You’ll need to make sure you have valid travel documents with you at the airport in order to fly. For international travel, this is typically your passport or national ID card. If you’re flying within your own country, the document requirements may be different. These requirements can change, so please check the details before you fly.
It’s worth mentioning that some countries only let you enter if you have a certain duration of time remaining on your passport. This can mean having at least 6 months remaining from the date that you fly home.
Some countries also require a visa to enter (even if you’re just passing through). Visa requirements can change, so please check before you travel. We aren’t responsible if you miss your flight because you didn’t know about the country’s visa restrictions.
You should also check if there are any health considerations either needed or recommended in order to travel, such as vaccinations. If you had vaccinations before your trip and were given a certificate, remember to bring it with you.
Please note that the cost of visas and vaccinations are not included in the price of your ticket.
Making sure you’re on time for your travel
Most airlines will advise you to be at the airport with plenty of time before your flight in case you’re held up at security. We usually recommend arriving 3 hours before your flight is due to depart if you’re catching an international flight, and 2 hours if you’re flying within the same country.
If you’re late or miss your flight because you couldn’t get to the airport on time, we can’t offer you a refund or necessarily get you on another flight.
Flight connections
If your booking includes connecting flights, or you’re flying out and returning with different airlines, we’ll send you separate tickets for each flight that is part of your journey. These flights may have different ‘conditions of carriage’, so please check your confirmation email for details.
If your connecting flights are operated by different airlines, it’s very likely that you’ll have to collect your luggage at the connecting airport and check it in again yourself – double check when you drop your bag off.
It’s your responsibility to get to the gate to catch your connecting flight, so make sure you’re comfortable with your flight connection times, remembering that you might need to go through airport security too.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
Missed flights
If you miss your flight, don’t panic! Please let us know straight away and we’ll see what we can do to get you back on track.
Your available options will depend on your airline’s policy, and also which leg of the journey you’ve missed. Unfortunately, if you miss the first leg of your trip, the remaining flights are often cancelled automatically. However, if you miss a later segment of your journey, this may not be the case.
Overnight accommodation and compensation
If you’re stuck abroad or in transit, airlines and tour operators need to ensure you’re looked after. Please contact your airline for help and if they can’t help you, get in touch.
Cancellations and refunds
If you or the provider cancels your trip, you may be entitled to a refund. To find out, please check the airline’s conditions of carriage in your confirmation email.
If you miss a flight and your ticket is non-refundable, you may still be able to reclaim the airport departure tax, which is included in the price of your ticket. Get in touch with us to check.
Insurance
When you book with Skyscanner Travel Service, travel insurance is not included – it’s up to you whether you choose to buy cover (or not).
It’s worth noting that in some countries you’ll need travel or health insurance (or both) to enter, so make sure you check before you fly.
Price information
The price you see when making a Skyscanner Travel Service booking includes: base fare, airport taxes and fees, any costs associated with our services and in some cases (but not all) baggage. Please check your booking details to make sure you have the baggage allowance you need and get in touch if you think you’ll need more. Once you complete your booking, you’ll need to pay the full price upfront as we’re unable to accept payment by instalment.
Extras like seat upgrades and in-flight Wi-Fi aren’t usually included in the price and, in some cases, neither are city taxes, tourist taxes, resort fees or airport transfers – unless stated otherwise. So please make sure you’ve budgeted for these things before you book.
We’ll always honour the prices you see in your booking confirmation email, apart from in cases of ‘manifest error’ – this is when a pricing mistake is considered to be obvious enough to anyone acting reasonably. If this happens, we may need to either cancel your ticket, refund you in full and ask you to re-book or else make up the shortfall against the real price. If you have any questions at all about prices, please contact us and we’ll confirm straight away.
If the price of your flight goes down after you’ve made your booking, we can’t refund the difference.
If we aren’t able to arrange a contract between you and a provider to carry out your travel services 48 hours after we’ve accepted full payment for your booking, we’ll be in touch straight away to find you an alternative. As prices change rapidly, we sadly can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to find you a new flight/hotel at the same price. If your new selection costs more, you’ll need to pay the difference to complete your new booking. If we can’t find an alternative that works for you, we’ll refund you in full.
From time-to-time, Skyscanner Travel Service may introduce offers and discounts for travellers, and sometimes specific types of traveller (such as frequent Skyscanner Travel Service customers, travellers in a specific geographic location etc.). These are subject to availability, and may have their own terms and conditions. We may have to stop them at any time without giving notice (all good things come to an end).
These deals are offered at our discretion and may not be available generally to all users of Skyscanner Travel Service or Skyscanner.
Contacting Skyscanner Travel Service
If you’ve booked flights, hotels or other travel services through Skyscanner Travel Service you can contact us for help and support via the help centre accessible via the Skyscanner app. We’ll always try to get back to you as soon as possible, and always within 24 hours.
Complaints
If you have a complaint about the service you receive from an airline or accommodation provider, speak to the company directly – as soon as you can. You can find the contact details on its website. If you can’t resolve your complaint with the provider directly, or if you’re not happy with any part of Skyscanner’s service, get in touch with us. We’ll do our best to fix the problem for you.
You can also register your complaint through the European Commission Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.
The legal bit
Very rarely, something will happen that stops us or the provider from being able to provide our services to you. These things are nearly always things that we cannot control or resolve, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks and war. In these cases – which are called “force majeure” events – we’re exempt from our legal responsibilities and any other non-compliances that result from that event happening.
Unfortunately, Skyscanner is not liable for any damages you suffer as a result of the acts or omissions of any provider or third party in connection with your travel.
This doesn’t affect your statutory rights.
Regardless of the country you’re in when you make a booking with the Skyscanner Travel Service, these T&Cs and all related services will be governed in line with the laws that apply to the Skyscanner company that’s stated in your booking confirmation (so if it’s our Australia company for example, then Australia law applies). This means that, should any disputes arise, you accept that that they fall to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that country to be resolved.
Corporate stuff
Skyscanner Travel Service is owned by Skyscanner 2018 Ltd, its subsidiaries and other group companies worldwide. Your booking may be with any one of these subsidiaries, depending on where in the world you made your booking. More corporate details follow.
Skyscanner 2018 Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales with company number 11631955 and having its registered office at Floor 6, The Avenue, 1 Bedford Avenue, London WC1B 3AU.
Skyscanner 2018 Limited’s subsidiaries are:
Australia – Skyscanner 2018 Australia PTY Limited, Company Number 629 708 578, c/o Bird & Bird, Level 11, 68 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.
Singapore – Skyscanner 2018 Limited, Company Number 201837867K, 39 Robinson Road, #08-01, Robinson Point, Singapore (068911).
Skyscanner 2018 Limited is a subsidiary of Skyscanner Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in England with company number 07777261 (Skyscanner Holdings). Skyscanner, the travel search platform whose app you used to find and make your booking, is the trading name of Skyscanner Limited (company number 04217916), which is a subsidiary of Skyscanner Holdings.
Skyscanner Holdings is part of the Ctrip.com group of companies, the ultimate Parent Company of which is Ctrip.com International Limited (details of which can be found on its website) which also operates in some countries under the name Trip.com.
