Vayama Reviews | Vayama.com

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Rating: 2.0/5 (679 votes cast)

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Vayama.com
  • Compare more international airlines on Vayama than any other website
  • 100+ airlines in 191 countries
  • Vayama has partnered with Wegolo.com
  • Wegolo was “chosen by Conde Nast as the best flight engine for lowcost carriers
  • Interactive world map and innovated 3-D seat maps
  • Foreign city guides & country etiquette guides
Our Editor’s Review

We like how the Vayama website is very easy to navagate. Uncluttered and simple. It is common to find some of the cheapest international flights on Vayama, and Vayama often has several coupon codes that can save you up to $25 a ticket. Vayama recently upgraded their site to automatically detect your location and features the best airfare deals from your departure city on their home page.  We also love how Vayama now showcases the cheapest business class airfare deals for quick booking.

What if you need to cancel a ticket booked on Vayama? 

Be aware  that the cancellation fee on Vayama is a little steep, and most flights booked on Vayama are not refundable.  Make sure you get travel cancellation insurance unless your travel plans are solid. The cost of this insurance can be as low as 5% of the cost of your trip. Last time we checked, Travel Guard has plans that allow you to cancel your flight for just about any reason and get a refund on a percentage of the cost of your flight when you cancel.  The best part?  You can sometimes purchase these policies after you have booked your flight on Vayama. But, you don’t want to wait too long after booking. I highly recommend before even calling Vayama, visit SquareMouth.com for a super quick travel cancellation plan quote to see if they can help you.

Vayama Fees and Policies *
  • Booking fee up to $20 per Vayama airline ticket (non-refundable). It is not always this much. The exact amount depends on destination.
  • Airline tickets are generally non-refundable if you need to cancel.
  • Airlines also charge a fee to change or cancel airline tickets.  This charge is from the airline, and Vayama will pass this charge onto you.  This fee can range “up to $400” for an international ticket, PLUS any increases in ticket price for your new ticket.  Many tickets cannot be changed.
  • Additional $100 per person to change or cancel a flight.  This charge goes to Vayama.
  • Shipping charge of $20 per total booking, only if paper ticketing is required.

*Based solely on research done by TravelSiteCritic.com, these figures may be inaccurate and are subject to change.Verify policies with the website before you book. Please be aware of airfare taxes & fees, applicable to any booking that includes airfare.

Vayama Contact Information

1975 W. El Camino Real
Suite 204
Mountain View, CA 94040

Vayama Customer Service:
1-650-265-1856
cs@vayama.com
feedback@vayama.com

Vayama Customer Reviews

Have you used Vayama and have an experience to share? We want to hear it! Add your own review of Vayama in the customer comment box below. All user reviews and comments are moderated by a human being and will be posted LIVE on TravelSiteCritic.com as soon as they have been reviewed by a moderation team member. Thank you for contributing to our great community!

Vayama Customer Ratings

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Vayama Coupon Codes & Deals
$15 OFF* Vayama Coupon Code: CJFLIGHTS15 – good for all flights

Fall Into Deals: Get $40 off per airline booking

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Read our review disclosure for more information.

Please be aware of airfare taxes & fees.

 

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VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Click Star to Rate This Site:
Rating: 2.0/5 (679 votes cast)
Vayama Reviews | Vayama.com, 2.0 out of 5 based on 679 ratings

Comments

  1. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.5/5 (4 votes cast)

    I would not recommend Vayama. They have mediocre customer service and I agree with anyone who claims that dealing with a call center in India is very difficult. Yes, they are somewhat trained in “customer service” but not good enough. They have a hard time empathizing with customers when things do not go right. I booked a flight with them and when the flight schedule changed, they had no control since they “are the airline”. It became a mess to coordinate and they could not offer too may other options. In the end, I had to cancel and speaking with anyone at Vayama throughout the process was painful, not only because of language barrier but also their limited ability to take care of things. Overall, it was not a very enjoyable experience. I will refrain from using Vayama going forward.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 10 votes)
  2. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Vayama is designed for simple, straighforward trip reservations. If you ever need to change your flights – God help you! You cannot do it online and it takes about 48 hours for them to respond. On top of that, no matter how clear you try to describe the changes you want made via email or on the phone, they make changes that are different to your request. I had to send/resend my change request 4 times via email and I still had to call them up by phone to get my dates changed for a trip. SO aggravating!!! I would not recommend them to a friend and will never use the again!!!

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +13 (from 15 votes)
  3. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    I would NEVER recommend anyone to use Vayama to book their flights. I tried to change my flight from Zanzibar so that I would fly to Heathrow and stay in London and leave ten days later than my original travel plan. I made it explicitly clear in my e-mail to them but they changed it so that I extended my stay in Zanzibar rather than in London. Vayama then requested that I pay for the flight change fee. I tried to have the fee waived but they refused. Every time I called the agency from Zanzibar, they were rude and unhelpful. Vayama representatives promised that they would call me back or e-mail me, but they never followed through. Thus every time I called them, I would repeat the same issue and nothing would ever get accomplished. I was extremely upset and frustrated by Vayama. I will never forget when one representative told me to to go call British Airways and Tanzania Air myself to make the necessary changes.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +8 (from 10 votes)
  4. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Vayama’s customer service is the worst that I ever experienced. I purchased an international ticket, the next day they sent me an email saying my credit card has declined. But then, when I checked my bank statement, it showed that the money is already taken out. I called Vayama, he was very rude, I tried to explain the reason, and he didn’t even listen. All he can say is “ur card didn’t go through”. He didn’t even make any effort wanting to help. Now I have to contact my bank to fight and file a claim trying to get my money back from Vayama.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 12 votes)
  5. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.0/5 (1 vote cast)

    Do not buy any tickets from Vayama, I had very bad experience. The local airfare was $50, I had to make changes due to my schedule change. Vayama charges $50 per person and airline fee is $20. I could buy another ticket without paying extra $20. Also they said that the ticket is non-refundable, but airline says its re-fundable.

    I advice not to buy from vayama.com

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 10 votes)
  6. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

    I feel Vayama is great, I try to change my scedule and use their exchange request system. they didnt reply me over a day so I called them then they help me to change my schedule immediately.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -8 (from 10 votes)
  7. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.0/5 (1 vote cast)

    Honestly, this website scared me after I had purchased a ticket from Vayama and was looking into changing airlines due to pet restrictions! I used their website to make an exchange request and when I didn’t hear back within 24 hours, I called them. I waited less than 5 minutes, spoke to a woman that handled my situation clearly and calmly, being upfront with costs. Less than 6 hours after that phonecall, I had an email with an explanation of United’s pet policies, numbers to call United to get answers, and their sincere apologies for not finding me another flight on a different airline. Seriously, not as terrible as I was expecting after reading people’s terrible experiences. To those of you that had bad experiences, I am so sorry to hear that. But honestly, I got a flight that was costing over $2,000 on every other website for $975 and had good customer service when it was necessary. I’m ok with Vayama … for now. 😉

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    Rating: +1 (from 9 votes)
  8. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I bought a transatlantic ticket from them. Everything was fine until the airline initiated a slight schedule change (shifted departure by 1 hour). Vayama contacted me by email that I need to call their non-toll-free number to approve this change. I called in. I was 38th in line. It took 1 hour 40 minutes to get to somebody with a heavy Indian accent. Between that and the poor quality of connection we had hard time communicating. After all was said and done, I thought that the problem was solved (I approved the change). Yesterday I get the same email asking me to call and approve the schedule change. I’m calling now (with 35 callers ahead of me). So, I’ll have the ‘pleasure’ of wasting another 2 hours of my time (plus the cost of the call). Who knows if they will get it done this time? And no, apparently there is no way to do this online, I have to endure calling their ‘customer service’ center.

    I will not buy tickets from Vayama anymore and I recommend to anybody who values their time and sanity not to do it either.

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    Rating: +1 (from 9 votes)
  9. schweigenthaler says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I have just used Vayama for the second time, having had no problems with a short European flight last year. I will not use it again. For one thing, their fees make the Air Berlin flight more rather than less expensive than the same flight booked directly at Air Berlin. I should have caught that. My bad
    Second: The confirmation, which has not been sent (several days past booking) could be found on their web site, where one can request a reminder. Neither the web site nor the reminder however provides the actual airline booking number (which I need to report the flight for miles to Air Berlin). By much search I may have found the ticket number, but Air Berlin suggested calling Vayama.
    Vayama’s availability for service less than most sites. I reached the correct department only after my call was incorrectly diverted to the insurance services (nice people, who are not related to Vayama except for providing insurance to their customers..they laughed. A bad sign.) I have reached Vayama. recording: Your are currently caller number 51. Thank you for your patience. After ten minutes I am 49. Thank me for my patience.
    While this is annoying when one is preparing a trip well in advance, such situations are devastating when out of the country and possibly one’s own language. This necessary call would cost me at least $30 on my European sim.
    I did not realize Vayama was a travel consolidator. Knowing that now, I would not choose them. (It was a forward from Booking Buddy or another trusted site). As I learned on a previous trip back to Europe, working with consolidators (in this case Cheap-O Air) can be expensive and give rise to extremely challenging situations

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 0 (from 6 votes)
  10. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (6 votes cast)

    After reading several positive reviews about David’s promptness and understanding of the customer issues related to vayama booking on this website I wrote to him at (feedback@vayama.com Attn David as suggested below) regarding tickets for my parents for travel from Delhi to Seattle and back on Lufthansa, purchased from vayama. However I have not heard anything from David after about 2 days of contacting him.

    While ticketing my father’s last name was left out and only his first and two middle names remain. I distinctly remember filling the first and last names correctly as in his passport. While the first vayama representative I spoke to was quick to point out that it was an error on my part. Except for my good recollection there was no other proof with me. I wanted them to check their reservation logs and sure enough another of their rep said that she could actually see the correct name in the passport information software but that did not somehow show up in the printed tickets. She was not sure why that happened but nonetheless asked me to send pp copies again. We promptly sent those and vayama came back asking for $100 as name change fee to be charged by Lufthansa. However, my contention was that when the rep could clearly spell my father’s last name from her records it appears to be a system error and if so why should I pay the name change fee. On this vayama has been going in circles and when I spoke with their supervisors later they are not willing to accept what their rep told me and are putting the blame squarely on me. When I requested them to check with that rep or perhaps listen to our recorded conversation on how she was able to pull the correct information they have stopped communicating. This makes me suspect that their rep could be true and vayama does not want to own up the responsibility.

    I am sharing my experience with you so as to check the names clearly even after booking even though you may have correctly entered them, and to know the kind of customer service vayama offers. I am still hoping they communicate it clearly to me otherwise I am considering reporting it to BBB. Any other advise in this matter will be highly appreciated.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 6 votes)
  11. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.8/5 (5 votes cast)

    Same experience with Vayama, like most reviewers here…flight cancelled just days before travel …. was told a new schedule will be sending to us …. waiting on confirmation …. no response …. called and given run-arounds …. after talking/yelling at so many different reps (most were non-English speaking), was given the option to buy another ticket (extremely high price especially buying for next day ticket going international) or refund. Not only did it ruin our long-planned vacation, but I also had to fight to get refund back. How does Vayama stay in business? Vayama is doing the same things over and over again to their customers, why hasn’t BBB pull them out of business? This is honestly the craziest thing we’ve had to dealt with.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +10 (from 12 votes)
  12. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    Vayama is the worst travel company I have ever done business with. I don’t understand how they stay in business with so many bad reviews. Six days before my flight to italy my outgoing flight was “supposedly” cancelled by the airline in which i was sent an email by vayama giving me three alternative options to fly out. This wasnt the problem, the problem was when i told them which option i wanted to take, they told me that i would get an email confirming my new outgoing flight. Three days passed and still no email so i called them. I spoke to someone and they assured me that my ticket would be issued within 2 hours. The day before my trip i still did not receive a confirmation email so i called again and was told the same thing. The morning of my flight I still had no ticket. I called and was told the same thing except that the ticket would be issued within 1/2 an hour. Still didn’t have a ticket after 1/2 an hour. It took a fourth phone call and a lot of yelling and screaming to get that ticket.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 8 votes)
  13. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    I had a terrible experience with Vayama. Two days before my trip from the U.S. to Japan I received an email that my flight had been cancelled. I was given four options. Three of the options involved schedule changes that were impossible. I had been planning the trip for 3 months. The least they could do was a phone call. And to give such short notice was ridiculous. The schedule changes I was given were written in jibberish. When I called to get clarification the customer service rep was extremely difficult to work with. She rushed through the information with some comments that the schedule changes were easy to read. They were not.

    I took the option of a full refund. I was given a two month time frame for the return of my money. That was also ridiculous. They’ve been holding onto that money for over 3 months. The refund should be done immediately.

    Vayama is a terrible company. I would never recommend them to anyone, even if their fares are lower.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 8 votes)
  14. Greg Solovyev says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    I am having the worst customer service experience with Vayama ever. It is so bad, that Comcast looks like Zappos compared to Vayama. I bought tickets to London on Virgin Atlantic through Vayama. Few days later, I had to change the return flight for a later date. I opened a change request on Vayama, and received a response that told me that they cannot change my return ticket without changing my outbound ticket due to Virgin Atlantic’s fare rules, and that my best option is to change the return ticket after I have flown out directly via the airline. To add insult, the bottom of the email said “priority: low, case status: closed”. I called Virgin and asked them about this rule, they said, that no such rule exists. I called Vayama and asked them to change the return ticket. They replied with the same BS as in the email. When I told them that I spoke to Virgin and they said they do not have such rules. To that Vayama rep replied that I should set up a conference call with Vayama and Virgin, when I asked the rep to set up the call (I have already spent over an hour on the phone trying to get to a live person), she refused. That got me cursing and yelling, after which Vayama rep hung up. Two days later, I received a quote for this change request from Vayama, and I replied to the quote confirming the change. Another two days passed and I received an email stating once again that the change cannot be made, blah blah, airline fare rules, case closed, low priority.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  15. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    I purchased a round trip ticket from Colorado Springs, CO to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Vayama.com. Everything went fine at first. I received my e-ticket confirmation notifying me that my reservation was confirmed and my credit card was charged. More than a week later, I logon to my credit card and see no charge for the ticket. Confused, I call my credit card company and find that the charge was authorized, but Vayama never followed through with it. So we conference call Vayama, and after being on hold 45 minutes, decide to give up, we were never able to talk to anyone. My credit card agent put a note on my account that if Vayama tried to charge after this point, it was disputable. Since I have to fly on this date and can’t afford to screw around with this, I go ahead and buy another ticket through CheapTickets. Then, SURE ENOUGH, 14+ business days later, the Vayama ticket charge pops up on my credit card. I call my credit card company, and we contact Vayama. We speak to a man with broken English, not real friendly. He tells us that if we have problem with ticket we must contact Vayama directly through website (WTF, we are calling you on the number on your website, there are no other numbers to call!)…finally he gives us a number to try. We call them, and its CheapTickets! What the hell! Luckily for me, my credit card company was extremely helpful, and will be removing the $2,224 ticket charge, filing the case as fraud.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +13 (from 13 votes)
  16. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 1.8/5 (6 votes cast)

    I’m having an issue with Vayama that I’m hoping gets resolved by emailing David. We booked tickets for June from SFO-LHR via Vayama on Virgin Atlantic. Unfortunately I need to make some date changes, and expected that there would be Vayama and Virgin fees. However, Vayama has told me that no changes at all are allowed. I called Virgin and was told that of course changes could be made for a $200 change fee per ticket. I got the Vayama rep and the Virgin rep on a conference call and the Vayama rep was defensive, rude, and kept telling the Virgin rep that the ticket was not changeable as a result of Virgin’s rules! I’m not sure what is going on but I’m caught in the middle and truly believe that Virgin must surely know their fare rules better than Vayama. I’ve already spent 5+ hours on this, and really need to get it resolved. I will post an update once I hear back from David.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 6 votes)
  17. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.4/5 (5 votes cast)

    A technical error in Vayama’s system canceled my flight and I had no idea about the cancellation until I called them the day before my flight. Although they refunded my ticket they offered nothing as compensation for the error. I tried calling them back but they denied any responsibility. Definitely not using Vayama ever again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 5 votes)
  18. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I have no idea how Vayama gets 2.3/5.0 here. I would give -5.0 if I could. Vayama has the worst customer service I have ever seen. I have been hold for at least 10 minutes every time I called. The agent has the heaviest Indian accent which I have to guess most of the words said by him/her. After a two – three mins conversation, he/her told me to hold again, after 2-3 mins holding, he hung up. If you are trying to refund your ticket, for god’s sake, just give up calling them because they will 100% sure tell you it’s not refundable. Just keep on bugging your airline till they call them for you.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  19. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    I just tried changing my return flight with vayama.
    I couldnt and communication was horrible, it took me 3 calls 10 emails and 5 days to know i couldnt unless i pay more than for the entire ticket as it was booked. Their staff is unhelpful and everybody tells you different information and call centers are never actually a big help… and you are lucky if the persons English is OK (apparently it is india). Droped out of line once. Vayama never again…

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 5 votes)
  20. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.4/5 (5 votes cast)

    I just had an experience with Vayama I’d like to share. I booked flight to Nanning China a couple months ago. I recently received flight change which resulted in 15 hour layover in LAX. I was not happy camper as one would expect. My disappointment led me to this website. In reading these reviews I noticed David from CS offered help to several–so before I complained, I thought I’d give hime a shot.
    He promptly answered every email and went as far as finding a flight like the original, if we could leave day earlier. We could not leave earlier–so I will have to do 15 hour layover. I could have received refund of original price $1,995 but lowest cost I could find now from BNA to NNG is $3,600–so 15 hours doesn’t sound quite as bad.

    David certainly went above and beyond what I expected–and while not thrilled with layover I certainly came away impressed with David’s efforts.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 13 votes)
  21. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.8/5 (5 votes cast)

    Vayama is not a good agency!

    I purchased a ticket thru Vayama for travelling from US to India. They booked me a ticket that did not have thru-checkin. I called them up to see if they can make a change to the itinerary. They told they cannot make the change and asked me to contact the airlines. When I called the airlines, they directed me back to Vayama – saying the booking was done incorrectly and they cannot make a change. After multiple calls to vayama and airlines, I realized that it cannot be changed! So much for the customer service. I advise anybody to book thru a reputed travel agent. These are crooks who just want to book a ticket and then not service the customer. You will realize this when you want to make a change. Better be cautious than be sorry.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +9 (from 9 votes)
  22. John Vernitte says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Incrediably high fare, and even higher fees, customer service if wonderful if you have the time to send 2-3 emails and at least 5-6 phone calls. Be prepared to be hung up on, and to spend lots of time on hold. To be prepared watch the movie or series Outsourced.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 5 votes)
  23. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Please, for you own mental and financial health – AVOID Vayama. Don’t be fooled by their seemingly low ticket prices, because they will throw charges on you left and right, AND their customer service is one of the worst.

    If you call to talk to Vayama customer service, you’ll be lucky if your call connects one out of seven times that you call. Each time you call Vayama, and wait through all that music, when someone finally picks up, the line WILL get disconnected. For me, the 7th or 8th time has been the charm.

    If you’re unfortunate enough to have bought a ticket with Vayama, make sure that any agreements they’ve made with you are noted down and recorded as proof, or each different person you speak with will tell you a different story to your disadvantage.

    My situation was that i tried to cancel my ticket soon after i bought it because i suddenly found out i lost my job. Most other reputable airline companies will waiver or reduce penalties given the situation, and given the fact that i called almost immediately after booking the ticket. But Vayama charged me $400.

    Please be warned.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 9 votes)
  24. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    Vayama has horrible customer service. heavy unintelligible accent even with the managers on duty. No notification given if your ticket is not refundable or refundable unless you call and ask after your ticket is booked. Would never use again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +8 (from 10 votes)
  25. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    I’m a professional event planner. I make travel arrangements all the time using travel websites. However, I was greatly disappointed with Vayama. I thought the change/other fees were ridiculously expensive (not competitive at all). I found the “acclaimed” customer service to be extremely lazy. I thought it was a complete process (4 days- between waiting 24 hours for an e-mail and calling) before I could change a client’s flight.

    I really wish I would’ve researched Vayama more. I will not be using or recommending them in the future.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 8 votes)
  26. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.2/5 (5 votes cast)

    I am writing this review in hope to help others because I succesfully resolved a problem which keeps repeating with vayama service. About 2 months ago we have booked an air ticket with vayama (for one person one return flight). Within 24 hours we got a reply stating that the booking could not be confirmed due to problems with the credit card. We thought, nevermind this site and found another air ticket through another site and bought it. However, several days afterwards we have realised that vayama is still trying to bill the price for the air ticket to our credit card. We reacted immediately, blocked the payment and asked vayama why are they billing a ticket they have cancelled. They said and I quote: “Duplicates can be made by hitting the purchase button more than once or by using the back button.” In other words, they said we have made 2 bookings for 1 person traveling 1 return flight. According to them, we should have realised that we have received one booking confirmation with one code and one cancellation with another code. We believe such business behaviour is deceitful especially if vayama knows that errors, that is, duplications of tickets are possible. To make the long story short, the only thing that made them budge was the threat of complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Their telephone customer service was terrible and entirely unhelpful but after writing several emails back and forth, we increased the pressure and they reviewed our problem. They still did not accept that their system made a glitch but offered to seek a waiver from the air carrier/agency for the second ticket booked through them. We gave them booking information for the other ticket bought independently of vayama, they got the refund from the air carrier for the ticked booked through them and the story was over. So, in the end our experience with vayama was positive but with a lot of nerves lost over threats and explanations.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +8 (from 10 votes)
  27. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    SAVE ME!!!! I just spent 30 minutes reading all these negative reviews about Vayama… If only I had read them first! I just had £700 removed from my account for a trip to China for my wife. No acknowledgemnet or confirmation from Vayama…Tried to phone them at least 30 times only for the call to be disconnected after listening to the vacuous ‘this call may be recorded’ have you tried this or that or the other? etc etc’
    God knows where my cash is and God knows if my wife will be travelling as I am completely in the dark.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 8 votes)
  28. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.5/5 (2 votes cast)

    I used Vayama last year and got a good price for an international fare. THEN I read the negative reviews and got worried. However, my flight was fine. No problems. I received email notifications of my booking from Vayama. I did easily speak to a customer rep by phone – I forget why – and he was probably from India, but I did get through. All discount airline bookings charge high fees if you change your flight. It is the way it is, so be sure to read the fine print.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 10 votes)
  29. B. Dalton says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.0/5 (5 votes cast)

    Our return flight from MNL which was booked on Vayama was cancelled by the airline, China Southern Airlines(CSA), Vayama was less than willing to help us. And pushed us off on the airline which was closed on the weekend. We began our quest to get another flight thru the airline and once we determined that the airline was closed on the weekend we sought help back thru Vayama. But they refused to help and insist that we contact CSA in MNL once their office opened on Monday. So much for customer service and repeat business.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 7 votes)
  30. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (3 votes cast)

    I had a bad experience with Vayama costumer service, it seems like they hired the laziest guys around who try to make you do their work like call the airlines to check stuff. I would not recommend Vayama to anyone- there are more alternatives that are much better.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  31. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    This is the worst experience that I’ve ever had with plane tickets. Vayama did not send me the tickets within the 24-48 hours they promise, although they did debit the cost from my card. Their trip protection will cover you only in case of your wife’s death or something like that. They were deceptive to the point of dishonesty. They take a long time to respond to email and when they do, they do not write complete sentences, so the message is not clear.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 0 (from 4 votes)
  32. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.3/5 (6 votes cast)

    If you have a clear cut plan and don’t antisipate any changes, Vayama is a great place to book international airfare. I just returned from a round trip vacation/flight from LAX to Heathrow, I booked two months ahead of time. I purchased the insurance just because I had seen some of these reviews ahead of time, but didn’t end up needing it. My plan was in place and went accordingly. I had a pleasant experience and everytime I had a question I just sent over an email and it was answered with in 24 hours. Seems like the trend is that people who have crazy things happen or make changes have the issues, wasn’t the case with me.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 7 votes)
  33. Alexander says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    Terrible. They changed our flight schedule and then Vayama charged us almost the entire cost of the tickets to “refund” the purchase when two in our group were no longer able to go. No answer for 1+ hrs at their “convenient” call center when I was prompted to phone them. Vayama’s site is a joke, and the airlines they work with are a joke.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 4 votes)
  34. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (7 votes cast)

    Do NOT use Vayama! Changing tickets is not only very difficult and expensive to change, but they have the worst customer service I have experienced in a long time. So, be cautious and definitely make sure nothing unforeseen happens to screw up your travel plans… (Good luck with that!)

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -2 (from 8 votes)
  35. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (10 votes cast)

    I have used vayama many times and have never had any problems. In fact, they are always my go-to website when looking for flights. I even bought a one-way ticket to Kyrgyzstan that used a paper ticket (didn’t even know those still existed) and I received it in the mail in a timely fashion from them. No complaints at all, and it’s a pity that all the bad reviews vayama is getting are due to stupidity and ignorance of the travelers.

    Be aware, if you are changing your travel plans, you are not going to get to do it for free with any cheap ticket website! It’s very clear under the fare restrictions that there is a change fee as well as the cost difference between the old ticket and the new ticket. If you aren’t sure of your travel dates, you have to buy a flexible tickets that is refundable! All of the cheap flight websites (orbitz, travelocity, vayama, cheapoair, momondo, etc) say this.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 16 votes)
  36. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Terrible customer service. Don’t use them! I booked a flight for my daughter spending six months in Kenya. Had to make changes due to health issues. Extremely bad support, both email and phone. When we made a change, we showed up at Heathrow and Vayama had not cancelled the original flight so was classed a no-show. Luckily Virgin was very decent about it and got her on. Absolutely no help in follow-up call with Vayama, which they farm out to call centers with no clue!!! Don’t make same mistake as I did.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 8 votes)
  37. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Incredible. First of all, Vayama’s system doesn’t support + signs in email addresses (I didn’t know this at the time), so I never got my confirmation. So I just spent forever on the phone to get them to resend the confirmation email. Their email system wasn’t working– but the customer service agent wasn’t aware, and they still won’t acknowledge it– so we tried two different email addresses without success, for 30 minutes. He said he sent the email four times on each address– still don’t know where those went. Finally they just sent me to a third-party website: checkmytrip.com and had me enter a code (and not one of the ones I got in my email.) so I could save my own confirmation.

    I wouldn’t use Vayama unless your only goal is to save a few bucks (they don’t actually have lower fares than other aggregators like Kayak or Bing Travel, they just have more coupons so it ends up being $10 less or whatever)– use Kayak instead!

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 7 votes)
  38. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    If you want to complain about Vayama’s unethical and deceptive behavior. Go to the Better Business Bureau and submit a complaint. It is better to have a complaint be documented and filed with a government agency. After you submit the complaint, copy it to feedback@vayama.com and let them know so they might pay more attention to thousands of complaints.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -2 (from 6 votes)
  39. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.5/5 (4 votes cast)

    Vayama is definitely a horrible travel agency!! I will never ever try it anymore…..

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -1 (from 7 votes)
  40. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I bought a ticket through Vayama to save a few dollars, and in the end it was a horrible mistake. They where unwilling to work with me to correct a scheduling error. Air canada did not recognize their company as a legit company. They said my tickets were purchased through a ticket broker and unable to access the reservation and that I needed to contact Vayama directly. Vayama was anything but helpful. In the end it cost me double my money to make my trip happen. Lesson learned….penny wise and pound foolish.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 4 votes)
  41. Kim and Brittany says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.0/5 (8 votes cast)

    Vayama is absolutely Terrible, and I would highly recommend NOT booking with them unless you enjoy spending hours on the phone with unhelpful customer service reps or spending huge fees to cancel flights. We booked a trip to the Bahamas using Vayama and received 2 conformation emails (both had different trip IDs) and 2 conformation receipts (1 for each trip ID). This didn’t seem normal considering we only booked 1 trip, so we called Vayama to verify that only 1 trip was booked and that only 1 trip would be charged to our credit card. After waiting on hold for a very long time, a customer service rep told us that we would be charged for only 1 trip, and sometimes multiple conformation emails are sent out by mistake. To verify this, we called our credit card company to make sure only 1 trip was being charged. But to our surprise, 2 trips (and 2 charges) were pending! Extremely unsatisfied with our experience thus far, we called Vayama again to cancel the “mistakenly booked trip” and the trip we actually booked. We waited on hold for even longer this time, which I honestly did not think was possible. Once off hold, we talked to a rude and unhelpful representative that was extremely difficult to understand. We were able to cancel the “mistakenly booked trip” for free (how thoughtful) but were going to be charged to cancel the other trip even though we were very unhappy with the service and had spent 2 hours dealing with the situation so far! We asked to speak with the manager, who was once again very rude and demeaning. In the end, we ended up accepting a $50 cancellation fee in order to avoid any additional hassle with the company. However, we did not receive a cancellation conformation email like we were told we would, and we had to call back a third time and ask to cancel the trips again!

    Unfortunately, we had to learn how terrible Vayama is for ourselves, but hopefully you will save yourself a lot of hassle, frustration, and money by using a different booking agency. Don’t let the cheaper flights fool you… it isn’t worth the hassle.

    Never before have I been so unsatisfied with a service or product that I have written a negative review, but Vayama is horrendous. I’m honestly surprised it isn’t a scam.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 8 votes)
  42. DoesntMind says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.3/5 (7 votes cast)

    Stay Away…I regret using Vayama…I would give no stars 0/5; I’m not surprised to see many other users echo me

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 7 votes)
  43. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (6 votes cast)

    I regret booking with Vayama so much! I booked a round trip but after I took off, Vayama sent me an email saying my flight had been changed. So I checked with the airline and they told me the change was made 2 months before Vayama informed me! How efficient Vayama was! That’s not the worse part. When I needed to cancel one of the flights, Vayama told me to contact the airline myself but the airline told me cancellation could be done by Vayama only. Then it became a nightmare because no one would process my request! That was a terrible experience and I will never book with Vayama ever again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 0 (from 4 votes)
  44. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.4/5 (5 votes cast)

    I booked my ticket with vayama for family trip. After booking, it was a nightmare for me to get in touch with support. Nobody was picking the call and once i could speak to support person and was of no use. Finally i decided to cancel my tickets with vayama and its been 25 days, my refund is still pending with vayama.
    I booked the ticket with exploretrip.com and trust me it was so pleasant as exploretrip’s price was far cheaper than vayama and good customer service. I had a very bad experience with vayama.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  45. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    Vayama is terrible and I suggest you stay far far away from them. Initially we booked a ticket for our wedding in Sri Lanka. Since they were the cheapest, and I thought they were like Orbitz or Travelocity I booked with them hoping to save a quick $200. Sadly this did not prove to be true. When we realized that my wife/fiance had to travel earlier, we attempted to change the departure date. Vayama informed us that this was not possible b/c there was no availability on the flight we wanted. However, when we searched online and called the airlines (Jet) we were told that there was availability on the exact flight we wanted. This was Lie #1.

    We stayed persistent and tried to get them to understand that there was, in fact, availability. They claimed they’d get back to us within 48 hours – this never happened. Lie #2.

    After much haggling (literally being put on hold for over 1 hour and talking for over 1 hour) they finally changed our ticket – with a fee of course. Lastly, we specifically asked them about visa issues traveling through India, but they assured us multiple times that since we were only in transit, we would not need a visa. However, upon landing, my fiance was almost DEPORTED because she didn’t have the correct visa! Lie #3. She almost missed her own wedding because of Vayama! An immigration official took pity on her after she explained what had happened – amazingly he had heard about how bad Vayama is and let her stay in the transit section.

    Unfortunately, she had to buy another ticket to Sri Lanka from Mumbai which cost $300. When I emailed David to see if I could get a refund for the $300, he said that Customer Service reps are instructed NOT to discuss visas for travelers and cut and paste their disclaimer. Not sure what good that answer did for me. They are a very sketchy company and I will never go back to them. If you want gray hairs, buy your ticket through Vayama.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  46. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    On 26th nov 2010 i had a flight from cairo via amsterdam to st. maarten. return flight 24th dec 2010. i missed the very first flight. klm was not responsible, since i booked with vayama. emergency- numbers by vayama did not work. i organized myself and purchased another one way trip to st. maarten days after. when arrived i tried to confirm my return trip on christmas . i was informed that missing my first trip the whole ticket was cancelled and that i was not on the passengerlist anymore. contacting vayama by internet, they mentioned some slight hope to get the taxes back. nothing came out. book airlines directly! or go to a real life travel office! in case of trouble you might find a real human who has not forgotten about obliging behaviour towards customers.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 6 votes)
  47. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.3/5 (7 votes cast)

    I just wanted to let everyone know that Vayama actually provided my husband and I with excellent service. We had booked flights with vayama to West Africa and we unable to use them for safety reasons. David from customer service was so helpful, prompt with responses and did what he said he was going to do. I was worried from reading some costumer reviews but they really surprised me. However, don’t buy their insurance, those guys went out of their way to be unhelpful.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -1 (from 7 votes)
  48. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    BJ and Others – The Trip Insurance vayama offers on the website is actually provided by Travel Guard. As a note to ALL travelers who are contemplating purchasing Trip Insurance, [regardless of whether the travel is booked online, through a traditional travel agency or the airline directly], I’m not aware of ANY travel insurance which will provide coverage when travel dates are changed due to changes in ones plans. As the Travel Critic Admin referenced, cancelation insurance only covers cancelations caused by personal emergencies such as death, health, etc of the traveler, travel companion, or immediate family member. To that end, it is critical to understand WHAT is considerd a “covered reason” before making the decision to include Trip Insurance or not. In other words, read the fine print.

    As to the high cost to make changes communicated by “BJ”, most of the extra charge ($700) is the result of airline change penalties and the possible need to pay the difference in fare between the value of the original ticket and the cost for the new ticket. This is ALL airline controlled and goes directly to the airline and NOT vayama or any other agency. It is not unusual for deeply discounted tickets to have an associated high cost to change travel dates. This is NOT unique to vayama. It is the way it is with the airlines these days.

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -4 (from 8 votes)
  49. VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.8/5 (5 votes cast)

    Interesting comment. I thought I’d look into Vayama’s website this morning to see what they say about the trip insurance that they offer. There is a link to a very detailed PDF legal description of the policy. Of course I didn’t read through the whole thing but looks to me that the insurance only allows you to cancel if you have a documented emergency, such as a serious illness. So, it doesn’t look like purchasing the trip insurance from Vayama is going to allow you to change or cancel a flight for any reason. It’s too bad that this may not be clear to people when they are purchasing it.

    VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +8 (from 8 votes)
  50. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    I bought tickets to Europe along with the BOGUS TRIP INSURANCE! About a month after the tickets were bought, we had to change our trip dates (hence the reason we bought the trip insurance), and they told us we COULD NOT change our dates without paying an extra charge. The extra charge wound up being $700! Along with the ludacris charge after purchasing the flight insurance, we were NEVER ABLE TO GET ANYONE ON THE PHONE! BEWARE OF VAYAMA!

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +1 (from 5 votes)
  51. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    Vayama has the worst possible customer service, I totally agree with many of the comments here. The person I got on the phone was unclear, dismissive, almost rude. I spent hours trying to get clear information, and they kept saying I had to deal with the airline (I had an emergency and had to cancel a trip). The airline said Vayama had to tell me what my options and penalties were. I went back and forth for half a day until someone at the airlines took mercy on me and gave me a code # for a ticket credit. I still don’t know what the reuse of this ticket will cost me, but I willl NEVER use Vayama again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  52. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    Has anyone tried calling Vayama today? There phone lines seem to be down, which is terrible timing given the delays in Europe. I need to change my flight and cannot get through to anyone and unfortunately the airline won’t make the changes for me since I purchased the tickets through Vayama, which I’ll be sure to NEVER do again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +1 (from 3 votes)
  53. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I bought tickets from Vayama to fly from Dehli to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Because I work on a remote site, my company pays for the flight to Dehli and I just booked from there. The day of my flight from Dehli to Saigon, Air India canceled my flight to Dehli. I called Vayama to try and change my flight to the next day and they would not do it.

    They were rude, dismissive and would not let me speak to a supervisor. Their english skills are terrible! When you call the number that they give you for customer service, you are talking to a call center in India.

    I was able to contact Malaysia Airlines and they canceled my flights for me and gave me a credit. In the end I was able to go on my vacation, but I had to buy a second ticket, from my companies travel agent.

    Now, I want to use my Malaysia Airline ticket credit and have to rebook the flight through Vayama because I bought it through them. I am waiting to see what happens and will repost with the final results. But, I am on my second phone call and email with no positive results. Based on my experience so far, I give them an F!

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  54. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    I can’t defend whatever negative experience both Moumita and OzzieXVI are referencing as I don’t have all the details. So with that said, as I’ve posted here previously (see below), if you have any kind of concern or need of assistance, please feel free to contact me at Feedback@vayama.com Attn David and provide your vayama Trip ID. I will respond promptly and assist to the extent I’m able.

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 4 votes)
  55. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.8/5 (6 votes cast)

    I had a really pleasant experience with Vayama. This is all because of David, the most responsible customer service Manager I’ve ever seen. I was origially desperate for the service of Vayama representive, since I was told my flight was non-refundable if I cancel the itinerary. Just last night, I found here, and knew David’s contact information and send him an email asking for help. To my surprise, David responded to me early in the morning and helped me solve the whole problem within 4 hours! Because of him, I would still choose Vayama for my next itinerary, and also recommend to my family and friends.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 6 votes)
  56. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.8/5 (5 votes cast)

    Vayama is awful. Avoid, despite how good the fares may look. Finding a fare and booking it is the easy part. But woe to you if for any reason you have to interact with Vayama. Their customer service is hideous. The management of the company is in California, but there is no way to reach anyone in California, everything is routed to their call center in Bangalore. This is a highly amateur customer service operation that is difficult to reach and then when you do reach them, difficult to get a satisfactory standard of service from. You are better off dealing with the airlines direct or a travel agent in the US who is more invested in customer satisfaction.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 6 votes)
  57. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Never use Vayama.com. They have the worst customer service. Nothing is clear and if you call for changing your trip schedule it will be nightmare, customer service will ask you to write an email then they will give you some exorbitant charges……..for me it was $850 almost equivalent to my oneside trip fare to india…….

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 3 votes)
  58. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (4 votes cast)

    Beware of Vayama! Hours and hours spent trying to get service for a date change on 3 international tickets. Every email and phone contact gave a different answer. The Vayama ticket agents refused to make any change at any cost and the tickets were useless! Even thought the airline would allow the change for a small fee.. Contact with the New Zealand airline directly finally brought about a solution. New Zealand Airline representatives were wonderful and professional. New Zealand Air went out of there way to get Vayama to fulfill their ticket contracts.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +3 (from 3 votes)
  59. James Hooks says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    Below is what I sent to “David” the “robot” service rep.:
    We have to cancel 1 of 4 passengers for our trip. When I called your customer service line, they told me to send an email. When I emailed, the email said to call the customer service line. The answering machine on the customer service line said to email. I stayed on the line hoping someone would finally answer. When I talked to a rep, he said our tickets were non-refundable and that the airlines don’t tell Vayama whether the ticket is non-refundable until after the tickets are booked.

    I called the airlines, USAIR, and they have had this non-refundable policy for years! The lowest ticket prices are always non-refundable! It is always the same and you must choose to pay extra to get refundable tickets. At no time was this mentioned on the Vayama rules which lead one to believe that “most” refunds can be obtained for penalties from $50-400. This is harsh but not as harsh as loosing almost a thousand dollars a ticket because Vayama is more concerned about selling than providing honorable, fair, and transparent services. There is nothing on the “Ticket Type” block that says these tickets are non-refundable. Vayama was being deliberately vague about a refund policy which they, by experience, are well aware of, and absolutely deceptive in the conversation with me. The honest and above-board thing to do would be for Vayama to offer a choice of refundable or non-refundable tickets or at least advise the purchaser that he is buying a non-refundable ticket since long experience tells you this is the case.

    Based on the runaround I’m getting, Vayama is not going to be my travel agent in the future.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 5 votes)
  60. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (6 votes cast)

    Vayama does NOT ALLOW you to cancel or reschedule a flight. I was willing to pay the fee and the difference and they still would NOT allow me to change my flight.
    That said, their customer service (an outsourcing center in India) would not help me AT ALL, and after waiting in a queue for 30 – 40 minutes I received an attitude, and was hung up on.
    I would not recommend their service to anyone.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +6 (from 6 votes)
  61. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    Hello Pamela –
    Many of the lowest airfares offered by Online Travel Agencies (OTA) are the result of special negotiated rates with their airline partners. The trade off for those deeper discounted fares is the airlines adding restrictions to the rules applied such as no refunds, higher airline change fees, no changes to the original routing, and if/when changes are allowed, it must be within the same booking “class of service” as was booked within the original ticket. Keep in mind, these rules are set by the AIRLINE and NOT the OTA. So if/when changes are allowed, the cost of making the change can be almost equal to what the customer originally paid. Who takes the hit and focus of complaints when this occurs is the OTA of course since they issued the ticket(s).

    Although airlines do offer their own discounted fares, they aren’t always as low as what an OTA may offer and are generally less restrictive if/when changes or cancelations are necessary. So what I was eluding to within my posting on this is if there is any chance the purchaser might need to make changes after purchase or might need to cancel altogether, review the terms and conditions of the fare carefully. If it states non refundable, non-changable, step back and consider the BIG PICTURE.

    In the end, what we as consumers need to consider is the VALUE of the ticket, not just the price. If changes in trip plans are possible, going “cheap” might not be of value. Value today in airline ticket purchase must also include consideration of additional charges beyond the cost of the ticket….such as baggage fees and no free lunch!

    Hope this helps to clarify and answers your question.

    Happy Travels!
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -6 (from 14 votes)
  62. VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.5/5 (4 votes cast)

    @VayamaVoice thank you for your comments to our readers. Would you elaborate on how to “consider paying more money for the ticket in an effort to get more flexibility from the rules”? Is there some sort of trip-protection coverage that a customer may purchase that would allow them more flexibility for cancellations or changes? I’m not sure I understand what you are referring to.

    VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +1 (from 3 votes)
  63. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    Booking with Vayama has been a complete nightmare. The first time I tried booking tickets, after I hit submit a technical error occurred on the site and when I refreshed immediately, ticket fares went up. Now that I finally have my tickets booked, an unexpected business trip came up and I have to push my trip back.

    Vayama’s customer service by phone is TERRIBLE! I cannot even begin to describe how bad it is. The agents have poor communication skills. They are slow to respond. They do not take the time to read you file. They are impatient and unwilling to help you. Without even doing any research or looking into your request, they automatically tell you your tickets are not exchangable due to ticket rules, but they can’t explain why. Apparently, there are no supervisors either, just a room full of agents that don’t know what they’re doing.

    I would definitely think twice about booking with Vayama, if there’s even a 1% chance you might have to change your itinerary, I would save yourself the trouble and not book with Vayama.

    At the end of all this I would not be surprised if I end up paying more in cancellation fees than the cost of the tickets.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)
  64. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (6 votes cast)

    Andres and others –
    I completely understand the frustration and emotional impact when changes are requested to very restrictive airline tickets. It may seem to Andres like I’m a robot. In reality I review each and every issue when I’m contacted as if it’s an idividual case. If my response to Andres seemed robotic, it could be because often times the situation is the same.

    When discounted airline tickets are purchased, whether from an online agency, a traditional agency, or even directly from the airline, there are typically restrictive conditions placed on those tickets. These conditions include very high change fees (up to $400/person) charged by the AIRLINE, time frames within when changes can occur, and the need to change within the exact same class of service as originally booked. This last point is of particular importance. Often times the low fares are tied to a class of service which only a small percentage of the overall seats on a flight are assigned. So although the flight a customer is wishing to change to might have 50 economy seats available, it’s possible that NONE of those 50 seats are within the class of service required to complete a change associated with a low cost ticket.

    It is rare that any complaints are pointed at vayama when the initial booking is completed. Why? Because the user is very happy with the fare they were able to get in comparison to what was found on other sites. Complaints are almost always associated with one of two things…..cost and limitation when requesting to make changes or airline schedule changes which then negatively impact the travel time of the customer.

    I can’t overemphasize this next point. If you purchase a low cost ticket, whether through vayama or any other source, then you subsequently need to make changes or can’t travel and want a refund…..be prepared to 1. Pay a premium for the change. or 2. Find out you can’t make the change as you’d hoped.

    I close with this piece of advice to all travelers. When making your airline ticket purchase consideration, ask yourself, will I need to change this ticket later? If the answer is yes, consider paying more money for the ticket in an effort to get more flexibility from the rules. If you are confident you won’t have to make any changes and you’ll use the ticket exactly as purchased, go cheap!

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 24 votes)
  65. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    I am having the same nightmare of an issue with Vayama’s customer service – we had a trip we could not take, tried to reschedule and they told us we could make changes BY a certain date but when we tried they said we had to travel by that date – it probably happened because there english is not very good.

    They hide behind some silly script they have been taught and make no attempts to help you. I have even exchanged emails with “David” who posts here from Vayama and he just repeats the same excuse like a robot.

    STAY AWAY FROM VAYAMA – there are better options out there.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 4 votes)
  66. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.4/5 (5 votes cast)

    Vayama is positively wretched. This is without a doubt the worst online booking experience I’ve ever had.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +12 (from 14 votes)
  67. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

    I initially thought it was Vayama who was very difficult when I tried to make changes on my flight but found out their hands were tied and it was actually the airlines that were the uncooperative and difficult part of the picture. My salvation was talking to David at Vayama (you can contact him as follows: feedback@vayama.com Attn:David). He has to be one of the most caring and consciencious managers I have ever worked with and has bent over backwards to help resolve this issue. With the countless time and energy David put in to resolve my ticketing changes,a resolution is now in the makings. I would not hesitate to recommend Vayama in the future to possible travelers. I rate them a 5 star!

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -3 (from 7 votes)
  68. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Al – It is inaccurate to post that “vayama does not care about their customers.” I won’t for a moment argue that there aren’t times when some of our customers have had challenges. But there are just too many of us that work too hard at vayama for our customers to accept someone referencing that we “don’t care”. Also, we wouldn’t bother to take the time to monitor and respond to internet postings if we didn’t care.

    If you feel you’ve been treated poorly or if you have an unresolved travel issue associated with tickets you purchased through vayama, please contact me at feedback@vayama.com Attn David. I promise I’ll look into your issue and respond promptly.

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -4 (from 12 votes)
  69. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    I had bad experience with Vayama initially but David (the Vayama Customer Relations Manager) is really nice and he helped us resolving our problem. He really looked into the issue and resolved it. I am leaving this review just in case if anybody needs any help in future they can email feedback@vayama.com Attn:David. He will resolve it.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -3 (from 7 votes)
  70. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Vayama has the worst customer care and service I have ever encountered with flight changes. Do not use Vayama. It is well worth buying directly from any of the airlines. These are intermediaries that do not add any value. For a slight difference you will buy a nightmare….

    I agree with the other reviews that Vayama does not care about their customers. Buy directly from the airlines. Even try calling any airline and negotiating your ticket.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 4 votes)
  71. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    Vayama has been a nightmare. The last leg of my trip was cancelled by the airlines. Vayama claims they can do nothing about it and have left us with no way to get home. They also say they cannot refund our money for the reutrn portion of the trip so that we can book elsewhere. I will be reporting them to the better business bureau and would highly suggest you avoid any transactions with this business to prevent a similar experience.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  72. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.5/5 (2 votes cast)

    I recently bought a round trip ticket to Belize from Lax for Christmas from Vayama. I bought it on Sept. 21 and around the 27th started to send out my itinerary to my family. Well, I discovered that my trip departure was scheduled for Sept. 26th, not Dec. 26th, and the flight had already left. I know I was very careful about putting in the correct date, unfortunately I didn’t check it immediately. I called the customer service center and was told by someone I could barely understand that I would receive a return call with a quote on how much it would cost to fix this mess. I still haven’t gotten a call. Now I’m left with only a return flight from Belize. I called the airline and fixed it myself, which cost me an extra $450. I have never had luck so bad with any reservation and I believe that the dates were changed within the website as I was making my reservation.It is impossible to work out a complicated problem with someone you cannot understand because you cannot be sure what you are agreeing to when Vayama says something.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)
  73. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Vayama is absolutely wretched; how they stay in business is a mystery. I have called them numerous times with regards to changing a flight, and each time they assure me that they have submitted the change and that an email is on its way, yet it never arrives. They obviously train their call center people to say whatever it takes to get the customer off of the phone. Of course, a *real* travel service would have automated changes to itineraries online, so the fact that they have to do it manually is absurd anyway.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +2 (from 4 votes)
  74. Rodney Collins says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.8/5 (4 votes cast)

    Trip ID OT8XA5: on 9/21/10 I purchased a ticket to Costa Rica leaving 11/10/10 and returning 1/8/11 from Vayama. Upon receipt of the confirmation, Vayama changed the leave date to 10/6 and return 10/13. I called and they advised a ticket change will cost me an additional $1,214 on top of the $1,036 they already collected. I called Continental direct and got the ticket changed for $955. Total cost $1,991. Continental online special at that time was only $1,556. Thanks to using Vayama, instead of saving $520, I paid an additional $435 above Continental’s price. Researching on the Web for Vayama Reviews indicates this is a consistent practice of theirs, changing dates and/or adding additional fees. I will never use them again, they are not honest people.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 5 votes)
  75. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (3 votes cast)

    VAYAMA is by far the best (less expensive) online travel agency in the planet. I have used their services seven times in the last three years. I am a happy customer. Caution: If you are a wishie washy individual who can not make up your mind as when to fly or want to change your flight a few times or can not spell your name and address right then do your self a favor and pay full price and book your ticket some where else. Otherwise stick to VAYAMA as I do and enjoy the lowest prices out there. Nobody can match their prices. Believe me, I search a few times a day for weeks before I purchase a ticket at the lowest price possible. Not once I found any cheaper ticket any where else. As long as you do NOT change your flight after you submit your request you will do fine.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 0 (from 18 votes)
  76. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    I had quite a nightmare rescheduling my return flights.

    1) They were changing the server and my reservation could not be found.
    2) It takes more than 24 hours for them to respond to the emails – really inconvenient when you need to change travel dates.
    3) I also spoke to 3 different persons on the phone. The first two gave me inconsistent answers and did not call me back.
    4) Eventually, the third person explained that there is nothing I can do reschedule the return flight because I have already used up half of the reservation. The only way to do that was to take the flight with the same routing number (such was available in about in about 1 month) and will need to pay $300 in Vayama and the airline fines.
    4)They also kindly advised to call the airline and try to straighten it out myself, and if it works out – pay Vayama $100 penalty!
    5) I ended up loosing my reservation and buying a new ticket: $675 cost of Vayama experience – never again!

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    Rating: +3 (from 5 votes)
  77. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    Hey Pamela – No contact from Alex as of yet on my end. I’m still waiting and wanting to assist. All that’s needed is to reach out to me. I can even be reached on facebook at VayamaVoice.
    David
    @VayamaVoice on Twitter

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    Rating: -3 (from 3 votes)
  78. VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 4.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Hi Alexis, inquiring minds want to know…. Did you contact David at Vayama, as indicated in his comment here? What was the result?

    VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 0 (from 2 votes)
  79. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.5/5 (4 votes cast)

    Alexis – What you’ve communicated regarding vayama charging MORE than what is quoted is not the case at all. If that is what you experienced, then there is an error which we will correct and reimburse you for immediately. Please contact me at feedback@vayama.com, Attn: David so I can look into this issue and provide appropriate assistance.

    Regards,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -3 (from 7 votes)
  80. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.3/5 (7 votes cast)

    Rob – I first apologize for the lack of service you’ve experienced. I know that seems to be the “norm” here on this site. But I can assure you and other readers, we at vayama are not out to take advantage of consumers. We would be out of business by now if that were truly the case.
    Please contact me at feedback@vayama.com, Attn: David. Within your email provide me with your vayama Trip ID and the best number to contact you at. I’ll look into this matter and get back to you promptly.

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

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    Rating: 0 (from 4 votes)
  81. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.8/5 (5 votes cast)

    Hi Lydia –
    I apologize for not seeing your posting here earlier. If this is still an open need for you, please contact me at feedback@vayama.com Attn: David. I will get back to you promptly and provide assistance to the extent I’m able.

    Thank you
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -1 (from 3 votes)
  82. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    Horrible. Vayama’s initial page tells you a price that includes all taxes and fees and only after your purchase can you see the breakdown and that they charge a hundred dollars more! When you call them they just tell you to call the airlines, which of course are not going to be able to help you because you booked it through vayama. The customer service people don’t speak well either so just avoid the Vayama site.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +4 (from 6 votes)
  83. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    Do not use Vayama.com! They are the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. First of all, Vayama double charged me for my flight. A month later, after a million phone calls and emails I have still not been refunded. Then, when I wished to change the date of my flight the fees were an extra $385! Almost as much as the original quote. Each time I rang to talk about my flight or refund for being double charged no one had any recollection or records of any previous conversations or emails. It has been a nightmare dealing with Vayama and I encourage you to never do so. Even if the flight is more expensive elsewhere it is totally worth it.
    Rob

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +8 (from 8 votes)
  84. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    I tried to choose the seats, but after couple e-mails they just blocked me, and I can’t send them an e-mail, I have a few undelivered mails from their customer service and of course they did not solve my problem. They suggest to contact airlines directly, because they do not want to work, they just need your money!!
    Now they count 400$ for exchange the date of my flight, but then I called to aircompany directly, I’ve been told that exchange cost only 25$ !!

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    Rating: +2 (from 4 votes)
  85. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.6/5 (5 votes cast)

    Paul – I first want to apologize for the lack of service and attention you’ve experienced to this point. However, I’d like to assist with whatever your need is related to your vayama booking. Please contact me either via Facebook (VayamaVoice) or by email to feedback@vayama.com Attn David. Include your name and vayama Trip ID witin your communication. I promise I’ll get back to you promptly!

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -5 (from 5 votes)
  86. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    What a disaster!! Appalling customer ‘service’ – it’s non existent. Totally unprofessional and uncaring. Vayama is a money-spinning venture with no respect for their customers.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +5 (from 11 votes)
  87. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.5/5 (2 votes cast)

    I had a horrible experience with a flight I booked through Vayama. I booked a flight to Europe through Vayama and was told a departure time from SFO. So I had booked a connecting flight from Seattle to SFO in order to catch the SFO flight in time. It turns out the departure time I was given by Vayama was wrong; it was an hour earlier than they had told me. So I had to change my connecting flight at the last minute because of Vayama’s mistake- at an additional cost of $200! I have not yet received any acceptable response from Vayama.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +1 (from 7 votes)
  88. VayamaVoice says
    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.7/5 (3 votes cast)

    To those who have posted your displeasure with the lack of customer service you’ve received from vayama, I send my apology. I follow that up with offering my services if you still have a need of assistance. You can send me an email at feedback@vayama.com Attn:David. Within the email please provide the associated vayama Trip ID so I’ll be able to review your case in advance. I promise I’ll get back to you promptly.

    Sincerely,
    David
    Vayama Customer Relations Manager

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: -8 (from 8 votes)
  89. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    It’s hard to put into words how spectacularly useless and frustrating the “Vayama customer service” is.
    Have had issues coz of recent British Airways strike. Vayama gave different information to that on the BA website [i.e. vayama initally refused to reroute my flight, altho the BA website advised that this was possible, had to phone two or three times to get that done] Then they got annoyed (!!) when i wanted to be rebooked onto my original flight from the local airport [literally the day before travelling BA decided to operate the original flight]. Vayama customer service rep just couldn’t understand why i didn’t want to travel for 5 hours to the ‘rerouted’ airport…..!! With Vayama the list goes on and on and on and on

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +11 (from 13 votes)
  90. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

    DO NOT BOOK WITH VAYAMA!! Seems like they outsource customer calls to India and it is nearly impossible to resolve a problem with them. First, it is very hard to understand them. Second, I had a flight canceled due to the Volcano in Iceland and vayama did NOTHING to resolve my refund process. Vayama did not give any straight answers as to what I need to do to get a refund and then they told me I had to figure it out with the airline directly. And then they said if the airline did not want to help, to let them know and they will try to get a refund for me. GUESS WHAT, the airline Martin Air (horrible service as well) said I had to go to my travel agent. I called Vayama again and they wrote me an email saying they are not able to help me since the problem is with the airline not them. Even after their SUPERVISOR said he would get the refund if the airline refused. A lot of back and forth lies and I will NEVER book with vayama again.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +12 (from 16 votes)
  91. VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: 2.3/5 (4 votes cast)

    I just bought a tickets to go to Mexico and we had an emergency and could not go on our trip. I called Vayama customer service. They said I could reschedule my trip but it was going to be more expensive then what we paid for to start with. They don’t speak good English and give you no choices. They take forever to return your emails. I do not recommend Vayama to anyone.

    VA:F [1.9.22_1171]
    Rating: +15 (from 17 votes)

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