Experience with Kiwi.com?
May 23, 2017, 1:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 25
Experience with Kiwi.com?
Hey everyone,
As i am on the verge of booking several multi-city flights and have been doing researching / monitoring prices for quite a while until now I came across the platform Kiwi.com. Their approach seems to be unique compared to other booking platforms as they connect low cost airlines with full service ones. This partly leads to incredibly cheap fare (for several itineraries they have always been listed as the cheapest platform on Skyscanner).
Because they are combining airlines that do not necessarily have an interline agreement with each other the passenger is not protected when the first flight is delayed and the second one is missed. Here they offer the so called "Kiwi.com Guarantee" that is supposed to cover such cases. In my opinion this sounds way to good to be true. That is why I would like to know what kind of experiences you made with Kiwi.com and maybe also with the guarantee itself. And isn't it a hassle to re-check your baggage when flying for example Ryanair and then BA?
As i am on the verge of booking several multi-city flights and have been doing researching / monitoring prices for quite a while until now I came across the platform Kiwi.com. Their approach seems to be unique compared to other booking platforms as they connect low cost airlines with full service ones. This partly leads to incredibly cheap fare (for several itineraries they have always been listed as the cheapest platform on Skyscanner).
Because they are combining airlines that do not necessarily have an interline agreement with each other the passenger is not protected when the first flight is delayed and the second one is missed. Here they offer the so called "Kiwi.com Guarantee" that is supposed to cover such cases. In my opinion this sounds way to good to be true. That is why I would like to know what kind of experiences you made with Kiwi.com and maybe also with the guarantee itself. And isn't it a hassle to re-check your baggage when flying for example Ryanair and then BA?
May 26, 2017, 9:17 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 778
This guarantee is meaningless. From their website
So if it's too expensive for an alternative flight then they will refund your unused ticket (maybe $200) when you really need to complete your journey (new ticket might be $800). You will be out of pocket $600.
If this happens, we will offer you Alternative flight to your destination or Refund the price of your unused tickets
May 27, 2017, 5:05 pm
#3
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,123
Fantastic website and superior to most other when looking for economy long-haul or complex itineraries. But I would not put too much faith in the guarantee and you would need to put sufficient time between flights in case things don't work out.
If you have little flexibility (e.g. you need to travel on 1 January) Kiwi.com isn't for you.
If you have little flexibility (e.g. you need to travel on 1 January) Kiwi.com isn't for you.
Oct 2, 2021, 5:34 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: PHX
Programs: AAexp, AC75k, HertzPC, NationalEE, Accor/MariottP, Hilton/HyattG
Posts: 3,614
I used kiwi.com because i had no choice. LATAM website would not work, payments would not take online or over phone with canadian CC's.
Kiwi.com had the same flight but they were 50% more expensive. it took 1-6 hours for ticketing to complete and for me to receive PNR/ticket number. Pretty happy considering it was my last ditch effort to book here and it worked... for now. I can select seats with airline and access the tickets.
I got a bunch of codes for booking the flights... i would have used them but i booked them all at once and the codes didnt arrive in time. here they are for anyone who wants to use , i got four :€10
Discount
8GGKB5UNMI B6YLEZ54L8
Code valid on bookings over €70
B6YLEZ54L8
DEKFNXSDD8
AOL58VQW0P
Kiwi.com had the same flight but they were 50% more expensive. it took 1-6 hours for ticketing to complete and for me to receive PNR/ticket number. Pretty happy considering it was my last ditch effort to book here and it worked... for now. I can select seats with airline and access the tickets.
I got a bunch of codes for booking the flights... i would have used them but i booked them all at once and the codes didnt arrive in time. here they are for anyone who wants to use , i got four :€10
Discount
8GGKB5UNMI B6YLEZ54L8
Code valid on bookings over €70
B6YLEZ54L8
DEKFNXSDD8
AOL58VQW0P
Nov 23, 2021, 12:44 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,603
AVOID
AVOID!
I had the same difficulty buying tickets at the TAM website and on Trip.com, so I bought the tickets on 11/15 on kiwi.com.
Today I called because there still was no ticket number, the result was that the “confirmed” reservation was not ticketed and now they wanted to charge me today’s price, 5X the original amount.
Email #1:
Reserva xxx: A sua reserva está confirmada
Kiwi.com <[email protected]>
Mon 11/15/2021 3:16 PM
Email #2:
Reserva xxx: O preço da sua viagem subiu
Kiwi.com <[email protected]>
Tue 11/23/2021 10:33 AM
Lamentamos, mas a transportadora aumentou o preço da sua viagem antes de podermos fazer a reserva.
Se quiser manter esta reserva com o preço mais elevado, faça o pagamento da diferença.
Preço original:
766.03 BRL
Novo preço:
3790 BRL A diferença de preço é 3023.97 BRL
I had the same difficulty buying tickets at the TAM website and on Trip.com, so I bought the tickets on 11/15 on kiwi.com.
Today I called because there still was no ticket number, the result was that the “confirmed” reservation was not ticketed and now they wanted to charge me today’s price, 5X the original amount.
Email #1:
Reserva xxx: A sua reserva está confirmada
Kiwi.com <[email protected]>
Mon 11/15/2021 3:16 PM
Email #2:
Reserva xxx: O preço da sua viagem subiu
Kiwi.com <[email protected]>
Tue 11/23/2021 10:33 AM
Lamentamos, mas a transportadora aumentou o preço da sua viagem antes de podermos fazer a reserva.
Se quiser manter esta reserva com o preço mais elevado, faça o pagamento da diferença.
Preço original:
766.03 BRL
Novo preço:
3790 BRL A diferença de preço é 3023.97 BRL
Nov 27, 2021, 3:55 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 1999
Programs: FB Silver going for Gold
Posts: 21,805
Another website (TripAdvisor) has all sorts of horror stories.
1) Like many of these sites, they charge your credit card while attempting to actually book/purchase the tickets show online (you're ponying up only for an attempt on their part to buy). Prices shown are not live. If they can't, they'll come back to you asking for more money (as in the above post). If you say to cancel, they'll do so, while charging a hefty cancellation fee. You have to say that you're not interested in paying more and ask for a refund, which will eventually come, hopefully.
2) They may be stringing a series of tickets together. The purchaser will most likely have to clear entry into each country en route to check in for the next flight, and be eligible to enter. To add to that, connection times are often not realistic for such.
Best story I read is someone being sold an Air Asia X ticket from KUL to HNL. Fine and good, except the ticket was for KUL-KIX and KIX-HNL (same plane). The person would have had to enter Japan, check in (in time) and go through passport control in 2 hours. Think the person had to buy a new ticket from Air Asia X so for all the individual's efforts, could have flown up front for the amount paid. Funny thing is I usually see KUL-HNL cheaper than KIX-HNL. Scarier thing is Air Asia uses Kiwi as a booking platform.
1) Like many of these sites, they charge your credit card while attempting to actually book/purchase the tickets show online (you're ponying up only for an attempt on their part to buy). Prices shown are not live. If they can't, they'll come back to you asking for more money (as in the above post). If you say to cancel, they'll do so, while charging a hefty cancellation fee. You have to say that you're not interested in paying more and ask for a refund, which will eventually come, hopefully.
2) They may be stringing a series of tickets together. The purchaser will most likely have to clear entry into each country en route to check in for the next flight, and be eligible to enter. To add to that, connection times are often not realistic for such.
Best story I read is someone being sold an Air Asia X ticket from KUL to HNL. Fine and good, except the ticket was for KUL-KIX and KIX-HNL (same plane). The person would have had to enter Japan, check in (in time) and go through passport control in 2 hours. Think the person had to buy a new ticket from Air Asia X so for all the individual's efforts, could have flown up front for the amount paid. Funny thing is I usually see KUL-HNL cheaper than KIX-HNL. Scarier thing is Air Asia uses Kiwi as a booking platform.
Last edited by YVR Cockroach; Nov 27, 2021 at 4:27 pm
Nov 28, 2021, 2:25 pm
#7
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,603
Nov 28, 2021, 2:43 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 1999
Programs: FB Silver going for Gold
Posts: 21,805
Again, doesn't mean the prices are necessarily live and available (should have added the word, "necessarily" in my post above. Google will post anything they're paid to, which in this case as by and to kiwi.com. The price may well have been sourced from kiwi by Google.
Nov 29, 2021, 2:48 am
#9
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,603
Again, doesn't mean the prices are necessarily live and available (should have added the word, "necessarily" in my post above. Google will post anything they're paid to, which in this case as by and to kiwi.com. The price may well have been sourced from kiwi by Google.
STAY AWAY FROM KIWI.COM.
Aug 6, 2022, 9:32 am
#10
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Bali, Indonesia
Programs: AA, DL, AK, UN, CN
Posts: 967
I could not agree more. I've used Kiwi a few times to book LCC flights in Asia (primarily AirAsia). AirAsia charges a hefty credit card surcharge up to $5 per segment so using a booking service avoids that. I also often run into problems with AirAsia not accepting my credit card.
This trip, AirAsia changed the flight from 930am to 515am. Stupidly I booked one ticket for my friend on Kiwi and the other on Trip. One ticket on this route I booked with Trip.com and Trip allowed me to change the ticket to another time (and in fact emailed me 3 times telling me I could do it). Kiwi would not. Surely AirAsia doesn't charge for the change as Trip.com did it for free, so Kiwi are just being jerks or looking for change fees naturally.
There's also no way to purchase extra baggage or seats from AirAsia at the normal rate with a Kiwi flight, you have to pay their inflated rate. If you put your confirmation number into AirAsia it doesn't show up, so you cant buy extras. Trip.com lets you do this.
Terrible customer service, not worth the extra $1-$2 savings they seem to often have over Trip.com. No complaints with Trip.
Avoid Kiwi at all costs would also be my recommendation.
This trip, AirAsia changed the flight from 930am to 515am. Stupidly I booked one ticket for my friend on Kiwi and the other on Trip. One ticket on this route I booked with Trip.com and Trip allowed me to change the ticket to another time (and in fact emailed me 3 times telling me I could do it). Kiwi would not. Surely AirAsia doesn't charge for the change as Trip.com did it for free, so Kiwi are just being jerks or looking for change fees naturally.
There's also no way to purchase extra baggage or seats from AirAsia at the normal rate with a Kiwi flight, you have to pay their inflated rate. If you put your confirmation number into AirAsia it doesn't show up, so you cant buy extras. Trip.com lets you do this.
Terrible customer service, not worth the extra $1-$2 savings they seem to often have over Trip.com. No complaints with Trip.
Avoid Kiwi at all costs would also be my recommendation.
Feb 19, 2024, 3:23 pm
#11
Formerly known as tireman77
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 5,520
I looked for information elsewhere, apologies if this is not the correct thread.
My boss booked a flight with kiwi.com (He now let's me book everything for him, so that won't be happening anytime soon, I can assure you). I've dealt with OTAs before but never kiwi.
Schedule change that has led to a negative connecting time. The ideal resoultion would be to cancel and reimburse. Can anyone suggest the be best way to communicate with them in instances like this?
Regards
My boss booked a flight with kiwi.com (He now let's me book everything for him, so that won't be happening anytime soon, I can assure you). I've dealt with OTAs before but never kiwi.
Schedule change that has led to a negative connecting time. The ideal resoultion would be to cancel and reimburse. Can anyone suggest the be best way to communicate with them in instances like this?
Regards