{"coverage_note":"Five discrepancy categories were evaluated for Skyscanner (skyscanner.net). Pricing (discrepancy_pricing): Searched for hidden fees, deceptive pricing, and regulatory actions; no findings specific to Skyscanner were identified \u2014 any pricing issues are attributable to downstream airlines and OTAs, not Skyscanner itself. Availability (discrepancy_availability): A finding was confirmed; Skyscanner's own help documentation and user complaints document that displayed prices are cached and frequently change or become unavailable on redirect. Identity (discrepancy_identity): A finding was confirmed; Skyscanner is a metasearch engine, not a merchant of record, yet its interface can mislead users about who their legal counterparty is, with multiple consumer sources documenting refund abandonment. Policy (discrepancy_policy): Searched for divergences between Skyscanner's stated cancellation and refund policies and actual enforcement; no independently verified discrepancy was found beyond the already-documented identity deflection. Undisclosed constraints (discrepancy_undisclosed_constraint): A finding was confirmed; Skyscanner cannot complete any booking itself, yet presents 'Book' calls-to-action without prominent upfront disclosure, and mid-transaction sold-out errors are documented after traveler details are entered. No category scans were blocked, but primary regulatory filings or court records naming Skyscanner specifically were not located; findings rely on Skyscanner's own help documentation and consumer complaint aggregators.","human_handoff_required_for":[{"action":"Escalate to a human when the fare shown on the airline's or OTA's checkout page differs from the price Skyscanner displayed in search results, calendar, or graph views, because the agent cannot determine whether the discrepancy is an acceptable dynamic-pricing shift or a bait-and-switch error without user authorization to proceed at the new price.","evidence":[{"description":"Skyscanner's own help documentation confirms that prices on calendar, graph, and country pages are not live and may change when the user reaches the provider's booking page.","reference":"https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-resources/"},{"description":"User complaint records corroborate a pattern of fares being advertised that cannot actually be issued at the displayed price, consistent with stale rate caching.","reference":"https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.skyscanner.net"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-26"},{"action":"Escalate to a human before completing any booking where Skyscanner redirects to a third-party OTA (e.g., Gotogate, eDreams) that the user has not previously reviewed or authorized, so the user can confirm they accept that the OTA \u2014 not Skyscanner \u2014 is the merchant of record and the sole point of contact for refunds, cancellations, and disputes.","evidence":[{"description":"Multiple consumer complaint sources confirm that Skyscanner redirects users to third-party OTAs for payment processing and declines responsibility when refunds or disputes arise, leaving consumers stranded.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/bellevue/profile/travel-agency/skyscanner-inc-1296-1000085973/complaints"},{"description":"Skyscanner's own help documentation states it is a travel search engine that redirects to third-party providers and places responsibility for cancellations and refunds on those providers.","reference":"https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-resources/"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-26"},{"action":"Escalate to a human when a 'flight fully booked at this rate' or equivalent sold-out error appears after traveler details have already been entered on the destination OTA or airline page, because the agent has reached a mid-transaction failure state and cannot independently determine whether an alternative itinerary is acceptable to the user.","evidence":[{"description":"Documented user complaints show a recurring 'Flight is fully booked at this rate' error appearing only after a user has entered traveler details and attempted to proceed on the destination site.","reference":"https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.skyscanner.net"},{"description":"Skyscanner's own help documentation confirms it is not the merchant of record and that cached prices and availability frequently differ from what is available on the destination site.","reference":"https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-resources/"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-26"},{"action":"Escalate to a human if a user requests a refund or cancellation for a booking that originated via Skyscanner and the third-party OTA or airline is denying the request or is unresponsive, because Skyscanner has documented no obligation to intervene and the user's legal recourse lies entirely with an OTA they may not have knowingly chosen.","evidence":[{"description":"Consumer complaints on BBB and PissedConsumer confirm Skyscanner declines all responsibility for post-booking issues and directs users to the OTA, which itself may be difficult to contact.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/bellevue/profile/travel-agency/skyscanner-inc-1296-1000085973/complaints"},{"description":"Skyscanner's structural role as a metasearch engine means it holds no payment and has no contractual obligation to resolve disputes on behalf of the user.","reference":"https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-resources/"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-26"}],"record_verification":{"last_checked_agentic_scan":"2026-06-27","last_checked_human_verified":null},"vendor_id":"skyscanner","verified_discrepancies":[{"actuals":"Prices routinely change \u2014 sometimes materially \u2014 when users are redirected from Skyscanner's search results to the airline or OTA booking page. Skyscanner itself acknowledges in its own help documentation that prices shown on calendar, graph, and country pages are not live and cannot be guaranteed until the actual booking step. Users also report advertised fares that are unavailable or cannot actually be issued at the displayed price, a pattern consistent with ghost inventory or stale rate caching.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"Ongoing; acknowledged in Skyscanner's own help documentation (date of original articles unconfirmed, but pattern persists as of 2025).","evidence":[{"description":"Skyscanner's own help article explicitly states that prices shown on calendar, graph, and country pages are not live prices and may change at booking time because 'it's not possible for us to show live prices until the actual booking time.'","reference":"https://help.skyscanner.net/hc/en-gb/articles/201151122-Why-does-the-price-change-from-the-calendar-graph-or-country-pages-to-the-next-page"},{"description":"A second Skyscanner help article confirms that when a user is redirected to a travel provider, the price is 'updated again' at that point, meaning the fare displayed in search results is not the guaranteed final price.","reference":"https://help.skyscanner.net/hc/en-gb/articles/202381632-Why-does-the-price-sometimes-change-when-I-am-redirected-to-a-flight-provider"},{"description":"Aggregated user complaints on a consumer review platform describe a recurring pattern where Skyscanner-listed fares look attractive but 'when I attempt to book, the tickets cannot actually be issued,' characterizing it as bait-and-switch behavior.","reference":"https://www.sikayetvar.com/en/skyscanner-us"}],"interim_guidance":"An agent must not treat the price displayed on Skyscanner search results, calendar views, or graph pages as the confirmed bookable fare. Before finalizing any transaction, the agent must follow through to the airline or OTA's own checkout page, confirm the fare shown there matches the Skyscanner-displayed price, and only then record the price as the actual cost. If the redirected price differs from the Skyscanner-displayed price, the agent should surface the discrepancy to the user before completing the booking.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-27","status":"active","type":"availability_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Skyscanner displays flight prices in search results and on calendar/graph pages, presenting them as the prices users can expect to pay when booking."},{"actuals":"Skyscanner is a metasearch engine that redirects users to third-party Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as Gotogate, eDreams, and others to complete the actual transaction. These third parties are the true merchant of record and hold the payment. When refunds or disputes arise, Skyscanner deflects responsibility entirely to these third-party OTAs, leaving consumers without recourse through Skyscanner. Consumers have reported being unable to obtain refunds and discovering\u2014only after problems arose\u2014that their legal counterparty was an OTA rather than Skyscanner, which had no obligation to resolve the issue.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"Ongoing; complaints span at least 2023\u20132025","evidence":[{"description":"Multiple consumer complaints on PissedConsumer document users being redirected from Skyscanner to OTAs like Gotogate, then being unable to recover funds when those OTAs refuse refunds, with Skyscanner declining responsibility.","reference":"https://skyscanner.pissedconsumer.com/review.html"},{"description":"BBB complaint filings against Skyscanner Inc. document unresolved refund disputes where Skyscanner responded but did not resolve issues, consistent with deflection of liability to third-party booking agents.","reference":"https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/miami/profile/travel-services/skyscanner-inc-0633-90314254/complaints"},{"description":"A complaint on Sikayetvar/Xolvie describes a user redirected from Skyscanner to eDreams, where an unauthorized \u20ac99.99 membership charge was applied\u2014a charge Skyscanner had no visibility into or responsibility for, illustrating the merchant-of-record gap.","reference":"https://www.sikayetvar.com/en/skyscanner-us"}],"interim_guidance":"Before completing any booking initiated via Skyscanner, an agent must identify and display to the user the name of the actual third-party OTA that will process the payment and hold the ticket. The agent should confirm with the user that their legal counterparty for the transaction is that OTA\u2014not Skyscanner\u2014and that any refund, cancellation, or dispute must be directed to the OTA. The agent should not represent the transaction as a 'Skyscanner booking.'","last_checked_date":"2026-06-27","status":"active","type":"identity_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Skyscanner presents itself as a travel search and booking platform where users can find and book flights, hotels, and car hire. Its interface directs users through a booking flow that gives the appearance of a unified booking experience, and Skyscanner collects or facilitates payment at the point of purchase."},{"actuals":"Skyscanner is a pure metasearch engine; no booking can be completed on skyscanner.net itself. Every 'Book' action redirects the user to a third-party airline, hotel, or OTA where the actual transaction occurs. Prices and seat availability displayed by Skyscanner are cached search results that frequently differ \u2014 usually higher or already sold out \u2014 from what is available on the destination site. Skyscanner's own help documentation confirms it is not the merchant of record and that users must contact the airline or OTA directly for any post-booking support. Documented user complaints show a recurring 'Flight is fully booked at this rate' error appearing only after a user has entered traveler details and attempted to proceed, meaning the constraint surfaces mid-transaction rather than upfront.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"Structural \u2014 present since Skyscanner's inception as a metasearch engine; continuously documented through at least 2025","evidence":[{"description":"Skyscanner's own help article on contacting customer service states users must identify 'who you bought from first' because Skyscanner itself is not the seller; support for any booking must go to the third-party provider.","reference":"https://help.skyscanner.net/hc/en-gb/articles/201148482-How-do-I-contact-customer-service-about-my-booking"},{"description":"Skyscanner's changes, cancellation, and refunds help page explicitly states it is 'a travel search engine' and that bookings are made with third-party travel agencies, airlines, hotels, or car rental companies \u2014 not with Skyscanner directly.","reference":"https://help.skyscanner.net/hc/en-us/articles/201303161-Changes-cancellation-and-refunds"},{"description":"ComplaintsBoard aggregates 295 Skyscanner complaints (rated 1.8/5) including a documented case where a user received a 'Flight is fully booked at this rate. The selected flight has just sold out.' error after entering traveler details, demonstrating that unavailability is disclosed only mid-transaction.","reference":"https://www.complaintsboard.com/skyscanner-b124717"}],"interim_guidance":"An AI agent must not attempt to complete a booking on skyscanner.net. Skyscanner should be used only to identify candidate itineraries and prices; the agent must then navigate directly to the airline's own website or an OTA's own website to complete the actual transaction. Before committing traveler details, the agent should re-verify price and availability on the destination site, as Skyscanner's displayed price is not guaranteed and seats may already be sold out.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-27","status":"active","type":"undisclosed_constraint_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Skyscanner presents flight, hotel, and car-hire options with 'Book' calls-to-action and price displays that imply a transaction can be completed through the platform, positioning itself as a place to find and secure travel."}]}