Alternative Airlines

Alternative Airlines is a UK-based online flight booking platform that indexes 600+ airlines worldwide including many carriers that are hard to book through Google Flights, Skyscanner, or major US OTAs. Alternative Airlines is particularly strong for regional and low-cost carriers in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, and the Balkans (Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, RwandAir, Gol, Latam, Avianca, Aeromexico, Wizz Air, Air Serbia, Turkish Pegasus, Uzbekistan Airways, Air Astana). The platform accepts 40+ payment methods including major credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC), and select buy-now-pay-later services. US travellers book via alternativeairlines.com. Activate ShopBack via the ShopBack Alternative Airlines merchant page to earn cashback on eligible bookings at the current published rate.

Alternative Airlines does not run a proprietary loyalty programme. Because it is an OTA (not the operating airline), passengers can still earn frequent flyer miles on the operating carrier if the ticket booked has a mileage-eligible fare class; enter your frequent flyer number at the airline check-in stage or via the airline's manage-booking page after ticketing. Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam earning applies based on operating carrier and fare class rules. Cross-check mileage eligibility per airline before booking. ShopBack cashback on Alternative Airlines stacks with any frequent flyer mileage earning on the operating carrier.

Alternative Airlines itself does not run sale windows since fares are set by underlying carriers. Notable buying windows for the airlines Alternative Airlines specialises in: African carriers (Ethiopian, Kenya, RwandAir) run periodic promotional windows in January and September for shoulder-season Africa travel. Latin American carriers (Gol, Latam, Avianca, Aeromexico) run Wave Season deals January to March. Black Friday (November 27, 2026) and Cyber Monday (November 30, 2026) surface deals on select carriers. Central Asian carriers (Uzbekistan, Air Astana) run Silk Road themed promos in April to May and September to October. Cross-check operating airline direct pricing against Alternative Airlines before booking.

Alternative Airlines accepts 40+ payment methods, including major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover), PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, USDC, and others via Coinbase Commerce, BitPay, or direct wallet), and buy-now-pay-later options through third-party providers on select markets. The wide payment support is a differentiator for travellers whose home country has FX or card acceptance friction and for travellers wanting to book with crypto. US travellers can pay with any standard US-issued card in USD. Alternative Airlines charges a small booking fee that is transparent at checkout. Cross-check the fee on the price line before locking. ShopBack cashback tracks on the paid ticket including booking fee on eligible bookings.

Alternative Airlines' cancellation and change policy mirrors the underlying operating carrier's fare rules. Flexible fares can typically be changed or refunded with a fee; non-flexible economy fares are usually non-refundable and non-changeable. Alternative Airlines offers optional Cancel-For-Any-Reason (CFAR) insurance at checkout at additional cost, which allows cancellation up to 24 hours before departure with partial refund. Involuntary schedule changes and cancellations by the operating airline are handled through Alternative Airlines customer service or directly with the airline. Cross-check the specific fare rules and CFAR terms on the booking page before purchase.

Kayak and Google Flights aggregate mostly major carriers plus large OTAs and often miss niche regional airlines (Ethiopian Airlines, RwandAir, Wizz Air Malta, Air Serbia, Uzbekistan Airways, Aeromar). Alternative Airlines specialises in these harder-to-find carriers, making it the go-to for building intra-Africa, intra-Central Asia, intra-Balkans, or specific Latin America itineraries. For mainstream US-to-Europe or US-to-Asia routes on major carriers (Delta, United, American, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines), Google Flights and Kayak typically match or beat Alternative Airlines on price and interface. For obscure regional itineraries, Alternative Airlines is often the only place they surface. Cross-check both when planning.

Alternative Airlines is one of the strongest online options for US travellers building intra-Africa itineraries (Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, RwandAir, Airlink, Fastjet, Precision Air, TAAG Angola, Egyptair). Long-haul from the US to Africa is typically Ethiopian ADD hub via IAD, JFK, ORD, or Newark, or Kenya Airways NBO via JFK, or Qatar and Emirates via DOH or DXB. From ADD, NBO, or Johannesburg (JNB), Alternative Airlines then covers most intra-Africa hops. Yellow Fever vaccination is required for some countries; check CDC travel advisories. Cross-check Ethiopian Airlines direct plus Alternative Airlines for intra-Africa segments to find the best price and routing.

Alternative Airlines is UK-based; when US travellers pay in USD, the transaction typically bills as a USD amount with minimal FX friction. When paying in a foreign currency at checkout (EUR, GBP, ZAR, KES), your US card issuer converts at network rate plus any foreign-transaction fee. Cards with no foreign-transaction fee (Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, Bilt, Amex Platinum) typically save 2% to 3%. Some transactions may show as foreign merchant even in USD due to the UK issuing entity; carry a no-foreign-transaction-fee card for the booking. Cross-check your card issuer's foreign-transaction fee policy before locking.

Empty any pending Alternative Airlines booking cart, then click through fresh from the ShopBack Alternative Airlines merchant page to alternativeairlines.com. Complete the booking in the same browser session, and confirm the ticket email. Avoid pasting unofficial third-party promo codes at checkout since they can break cashback tracking. Turn off ad-blockers during checkout. Cashback tracks on the paid ticket including booking fee for eligible bookings. Rates and eligible booking types vary; see the current published rate on the ShopBack Alternative Airlines merchant page.

Yes. Any cancelled or refunded portion of your Alternative Airlines booking is voided from the ShopBack cashback total, since Alternative Airlines only pays commission on flown tickets. If you cancel a ticket within the refund or CFAR window or the flight is not flown, the pending cashback will not confirm on the refunded amount.