[Scoundreller]

The exception I've found for flights is that sometimes the OTAs can setup selling-airline and codeshare combinations that would be impossible to do direct. e.g. an airline won't book flights on its own metal through its codeshare partners. Maybe I could call in and get it, but that's a hunt I don't wish to do.

Had a flight on all American Airlines metal that the OTA purchased through Iberian airlines on a mix of AA bookings and Finnair codeshares. The flight did not touch Finland or Spain.

[robocat]

I try to avoid multiple carriers after getting caught out missing a flight in Dubai due to maintenance delays in Sydney. With a single carrier, the carrier has to pay for accomodation etcetera and it is their problem to get you to your destination.

With multiple carriers, sometimes things become your problem.

If you buy multiple independent tickets to get the cheapest fares possible, you can be really screwed.

So it really depends on your appetite for risk. I sometimes choose the lowest risk to get to my destination, and a high risk option on the way home where I am less time constrained and can be more flexible dealing with any issues. New Zealand is the antipodes to Europe and can take 24 hours to arrive (including stopovers), so any flight problems are significantly worse than for many other countries.

[Scoundreller]

All flights were on one carrier: American Airlines. AA's in an alliance with Iberian, Finnair and others. But I guess each one was selling the same flights, with the same rights and everything, at different prices, on one ticket.

But I do see Google's OTA listing offering things like you say where you're not protected in the event of a missed connection delay and have some shady insurer that's supposed to 'protect' you outside of the airlines.