Hilary A.

Doesn't the name (CheapOair) sound deafening alarm bells?! It did for me, but I could not deny saving $1,000 (compared to what my travel agent was quoting) was a huge motivating factor. I booked tickets in August for a trip in February; even bought some scammy trip insurance.

I'm never afraid to do leg-work and knew I was going to have to babysit our flights. I started 3 days before embarking. Within 24 hours I learned enough about the airline industry to start my own travel agency (no offense agents). All of our flights were with different carriers, but the "paper" was owned by American. Turns out NONE of our carriers had our flight records in active status and they were considered "exchanged". I was told if we had shown up to the airport we would not have been able to board our plane without straightening out this issue with our "agent" (CheapO).

Over a 7 hour period, I spoke to all three of our carriers (CheapO's hold time was up to 20 minutes each call), each having different issues with our tickets. Then I had to circle back to the agent and then back to all three carriers AGAIN.

Fun facts: 1) CheapOair could not lock in our seat selection because that was "blocked by the airlines". I asked if that was unusual, CheapO said "no". Again, more calls to the airlines, upgrade fees required (an additional $366) in order to guarantee our seats. 2) CheapO's customer service is handled in/by India. I have no problem with that, but there is a language barrier further complicating problem solving.

Air travel always presents challenges; I suggest you leave it to the pros and pay the price. I'm never CheapO'ing again.