Last modified August 17, 2026
Yes, FlightHub is a legitimate online travel agency, not a scam. It is a real, registered ticket agent run by FlightHub Group Inc. in Montreal, and it has sold millions of airline tickets. The catch is what happens after you pay. FlightHub is a middleman, so it charges its own cancellation and change fees on top of the airline’s, the US 24-hour free-cancellation rule does not cover bookings made through it, and in 2021 Canada’s Competition Bureau closed a three-year investigation with $5.8 million in penalties against the company and two of its directors for hidden fees, misleading price claims, and posting fake positive reviews.
That history is why the review scores are so split, and why “is FlightHub legit” is the wrong question. The better question is whether the fare you found is cheap enough to be worth booking through an agency that makes it expensive to change your mind.
Is FlightHub legit or a scam?
FlightHub is legit in the sense that matters most: pay it and you get a real ticket on a real airline. It is not a phantom site that takes your card and disappears. What it is not is a low-risk place to book a trip you might need to change. Review platforms split almost perfectly along that line, with a huge, mostly happy pool of people whose trips went fine, and a smaller, furious pool of people who needed a refund.
| Platform | Rating | Volume | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot (flighthub.com) | 4 / 5 (“Great”) | ~118,800 reviews | Most bookings go through without incident |
| PissedConsumer | 1.6 / 5 | ~2,370 reviews | Complaint-first platform: refunds and support |
| ComplaintsBoard | 1.4 / 5 | 702 complaints, ~90% unresolved | Escalated cases rarely get closed out |
| ResellerRatings | 1.0 / 5 | 41 reviews | Small sample, uniformly negative |
| Better Business Bureau | Not accredited | Ongoing complaint record | Recurring refund and contactability issues |
A four-star average sitting next to a 1.4 is not a contradiction. Trustpilot collects reviews from everyone who books, and the overwhelming majority of flights simply happen. Complaint boards collect only from people with an unresolved problem. Read the gap as a risk profile, not a verdict: high odds of a smooth trip, poor odds of a smooth recovery if the trip changes.
What is FlightHub, and is it a US company?
FlightHub is Canadian, not American. FlightHub Group Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, and it operates two near-identical booking sites: FlightHub and JustFly. Same parent company, same booking engine, same customer service operation. If you are comparing the two, you are comparing a paint job.
It is an online travel agency, which means it sells you a seat on someone else’s aircraft. Flights are the core business, with hotels and car rentals bolted on. One piece of history worth knowing: FlightHub was granted creditor protection by the Quebec Superior Court in May 2020 under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, a fact the Competition Bureau took into account when it set the company’s penalty the following year.
What did Canada’s Competition Bureau find against FlightHub?
On 24 February 2021 the Competition Bureau closed its investigation with a settlement worth $5.8 million: a $5 million penalty against FlightHub Group Inc., plus $400,000 each from directors Matthew Keezer and Nicholas Hart. This is the single most useful document about FlightHub, because it is a regulator describing the company’s actual billing behavior rather than a customer describing one bad day.
The Bureau opened its formal investigation in November 2018, executed search warrants at the Montreal head office in February 2019, and in October 2019 obtained a Temporary Consent Agreement barring false or misleading marketing on FlightHub.com and JustFly.com while the case ran. That interim order was the first of its kind the Bureau had ever obtained mid-investigation.
The findings, in the Bureau’s own summary, were that FlightHub “charged customers hidden fees, authored positive customer reviews to promote its services, and made numerous false or misleading claims about its prices.” Specifically:
- Seat selection. The company concealed the fees it charged for seat selection, and let customers pick seats on a seat map that it then did not secure for many of them.
- Flight prices. It promoted false or misleading pricing on the sites and in emails, and at times raised the price after a customer had already selected a flight.
- Cancellation and rebooking. It gave the impression that cancellation and rebooking rights were free, and broader than they were, then charged for them.
- Travel credits. It implied credits could be used on any future flight when they carried restrictions and extra costs, and in some cases the credit’s stated value fell after the customer had agreed to it.
- Fake reviews. The settlement required FlightHub to remove online reviews posted by or for the company that appeared to come from genuine customers.
The prohibitions bind FlightHub and both directors for ten years, so through February 2031. Two things follow for a traveler. The conduct the Bureau describes is now legally barred, which is a real consumer protection. And the fake-review finding is the honest caveat to read alongside any glowing aggregate score for this brand, including the Trustpilot number above.
Why is FlightHub cheaper than booking direct?
The headline fare is usually lower because the agency is buying in volume, stitching together itineraries the airline will not sell you itself, and stripping the price down to the bare seat. Baggage, seat selection, and flexibility get sold back to you later, which is where a $40 saving quietly becomes a $10 saving.
Two of those levers are genuinely valuable. Negotiated bulk fares can beat published airline prices, and multi-carrier routings that combine airlines with no partnership can undercut anything a single carrier shows. The third lever is not value, it is deferral: the flexibility you did not buy at checkout is the flexibility you pay a premium for later. Compare the total at the final payment screen against the airline’s own site, not the search-results number. Our guide to hidden travel expenses covers the same trap across the rest of a trip.
What fees does FlightHub charge?
FlightHub charges its own per-passenger administrative fee to cancel or change a booking, and it stacks on top of whatever the airline charges. That is the number most travelers miss, because the airline’s own change fee is what they went looking for.
| What you want to do | Domestic | Transborder (Canada to US) | All other international |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancel a booking | $75 per passenger | $125 per passenger | $150 per passenger |
| Change a booking | $75 per passenger | $125 per passenger | $150 per passenger |
| Airline’s own fee or fare difference | Charged separately, on top of the amounts above | ||
| Extended Cancellation Policy (cancel free within 24h) | Optional add-on, around $19.99 per passenger | ||
| Cancel For Any Reason (up to 48h before departure) | Optional add-on, priced per itinerary, refunds up to 100% | ||
The two paid add-ons deserve a straight read. The Extended Cancellation Policy buys back roughly what a US airline would give you free: a 24-hour window to change your mind without the administrative fee. Cancel For Any Reason, launched in June 2024 with insurtech partner Cover Genius, is a different product. It lets you cancel up to 48 hours before departure for any reason at all, with no documentation, and refunds up to 100% of the booking. If your plans are genuinely uncertain, that is the add-on worth pricing; if they are firm, neither is.
Does the 24-hour free cancellation rule apply to FlightHub?
No. The US Department of Transportation’s 24-hour refund rule applies to airlines, not to tickets bought through an online travel agency. DOT states plainly that the 24-hour requirement does not apply to tickets booked through online travel agencies, travel agents, or other third-party agents, though agents are free to offer something equivalent. This single fact explains the $19.99 Extended Cancellation Policy: FlightHub is selling you back a protection you would have received free had you booked on the airline’s own site.
One protection does reach ticket agents. Under the DOT final rule published in April 2024, when an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight and you do not accept the alternative offered, a refund is automatic, and both airlines and ticket agents must tell you that a refund is your right before offering credits or vouchers instead. Refunds are due promptly: within seven business days for credit card payments, and within 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
Read those two rules together and the practical rule for booking flights emerges. Book with an agency if you are confident about the dates. Book direct, or buy the add-on, if you are not. The current rules are published at the DOT aviation consumer protection pages.
What do FlightHub complaints actually say?
Four complaints repeat across every platform: the price climbs at checkout, the confirmation is slow or missing, support is hard to reach, and refunds arrive late, partial, or as credit. Each has a specific defense.
| Complaint | What is usually happening | How to protect yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Price higher at checkout than in search | Seat selection, baggage and service charges added late in the flow | Compare the final payment total against the airline’s site before you confirm |
| No confirmation email | Ticket issued but the email is delayed, filtered, or the address was mistyped | Look up the airline record locator on the airline’s own site within 24 hours |
| Cannot reach a human | Phone queues and chat bots absorb the first line of contact | Keep the booking number to hand, contact early in the day, and log every attempt |
| Refund is late, partial, or paid as credit | Agency admin fees deducted, or a credit offered instead of cash | State that you want a refund, not a credit, in writing; escalate to your card issuer if the deadline passes |
| Seat paid for but not assigned | Seat request not secured with the airline | Confirm the seat directly with the airline and keep the receipt for the fee |
The credit card point is the one people skip. A card chargeback is your strongest lever when an agency will not refund a service it did not deliver, and it has a deadline. Do not spend eight weeks in a support queue and then discover the dispute window has closed. Our guide to whether travel agents have to give you a refund sets out where the obligation actually sits.
How does FlightHub compare with booking direct or another OTA?
FlightHub competes on fare and loses on recovery. Against the airline, it can be cheaper but adds a layer between you and the only party that can actually move your seat. Against the larger agencies, the gap is service depth rather than legitimacy.
| FlightHub / JustFly | Booking direct with the airline | Large OTA (Expedia, Priceline) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical headline fare | Often lowest | Usually highest | Between the two |
| Agency fee to cancel or change | $75 to $150 per passenger | None beyond the airline’s own | Varies; often lower or waived |
| Free 24-hour cancellation | No, sold as a paid add-on | Yes on US itineraries | Varies by seller |
| Who fixes a schedule change | FlightHub, then the airline | The airline, directly | The OTA, then the airline |
| Loyalty miles and status credit | Usually earned, add the number yourself | Earned, applied automatically | Usually earned |
| Best for | Fixed dates, price-led trips | Anything that might change | Packages and bundled trips |
How do you contact FlightHub when something goes wrong?
Start with your booking number and the FlightHub help centre, then escalate in a fixed order rather than repeating the same channel. The complaint record shows people losing weeks inside a single queue.
- Find the booking number in your confirmation email, and the airline record locator alongside it.
- Call the airline first for anything the airline controls: schedule changes, seat assignments, name spelling, special assistance.
- Go to FlightHub for anything only the agency controls: cancellation, refund processing, the fees it charged you.
- Put the request in writing, name the outcome you want, and say explicitly that you want a refund rather than a credit if that is the case.
- If the refund deadline passes, open a dispute with your credit card issuer before the card network’s own time limit expires.
How do you book with FlightHub without getting burned?
Treat the fare as provisional until the airline confirms it, and decide about flexibility before you reach the payment screen, not after. Six checks cover most of the recorded complaints.
- Screenshot the fare and the fee breakdown at the final payment step.
- Pay with a credit card, never a debit card or bank transfer, so a chargeback stays available.
- Check the airline’s own site for your record locator within 24 hours and confirm every name matches your passport exactly.
- Decide on the cancellation add-on at checkout, when it is cheapest, rather than after plans wobble.
- Add your frequent flyer number with the airline directly; agency bookings often drop it.
- Keep every confirmation, fee receipt and support transcript in one folder until the trip is over.
Those habits are worth applying to any third-party seller, not just this one. See how to tell whether a travel agency is legit and our list of common travel mistakes for the wider version.
Who should use FlightHub, and who should not?
Use FlightHub when the dates are fixed and the saving is real; avoid it when anything about the trip could move.
- Worth booking: a locked-in leisure trip, a simple return, a multi-carrier routing no single airline sells, where the total beats the airline by more than the cost of the add-on protection.
- Book direct instead: business travel, connecting itineraries with tight layovers, anything involving special assistance or pets, trips with visa or medical uncertainty, and any fare where the saving is under about $50 per passenger.
The arithmetic is blunt. A $60 saving on an international ticket disappears the moment you need one change, because the agency fee alone is $150 per passenger before the airline’s fare difference. Price the downside, not just the fare. Our travel hacks and best travel apps guides cover the tools that make that comparison quick.
Frequently asked questions
Is FlightHub a legit website?
Yes. FlightHub is a real online travel agency operated by FlightHub Group Inc. of Montreal, Canada, and tickets bought through it are issued on real airlines. It is not a fake storefront. The risk is not that your ticket fails to exist, it is that changing or cancelling it is slow and expensive, and that Canada’s Competition Bureau penalized the company $5.8 million in 2021 over hidden fees, misleading pricing and fake positive reviews.
What are the disadvantages of using FlightHub?
Three main ones. FlightHub charges its own cancellation and change fee of $75 to $150 per passenger on top of anything the airline charges. The US 24-hour free-cancellation rule does not cover agency bookings, so that protection is sold back as a paid add-on. And when a schedule changes you deal with the agency rather than the airline, which the complaint record shows is the slow path.
Why is FlightHub so much cheaper?
Partly for good reasons and partly for one bad one. It buys inventory in volume at negotiated rates, and it will combine airlines that have no partnership to build a routing no single carrier sells. It also strips the displayed price down to the bare seat, then sells baggage, seat selection and flexibility back to you later. Compare the final payment total, not the search-results fare.
Are FlightHub and JustFly the same company?
Effectively yes. Both are operated by FlightHub Group Inc. in Montreal, on the same booking platform with the same customer service operation. The Competition Bureau’s 2021 settlement covered conduct on FlightHub.com and JustFly.com together. Expect the same fees and the same support experience on either site.
Can I cancel a FlightHub booking for free within 24 hours?
Not by default. The US Department of Transportation’s 24-hour rule applies to airlines, not to tickets bought through an online travel agency, so it does not cover a FlightHub booking. FlightHub sells an Extended Cancellation Policy for around $19.99 per passenger that waives its administrative fee within 24 hours of purchase, and a separate Cancel For Any Reason option that runs up to 48 hours before departure.
How do I get a refund from FlightHub?
Request it in writing through FlightHub with your booking number, and state that you want a refund rather than a travel credit. If the airline cancelled or significantly changed the flight and you did not accept the alternative, US rules require a prompt refund: within seven business days on a credit card and 20 calendar days on other payment methods. If that deadline passes, open a dispute with your card issuer before the card network’s own time limit runs out.
The verdict on FlightHub in 2026
FlightHub is a legitimate way to buy a cheap ticket and a poor way to buy a flexible one. If your dates are locked and the total beats the airline by a meaningful margin, book it, pay by credit card, and confirm the record with the airline the same day. If there is any chance the trip moves, the $75 to $150 per-passenger agency fee will eat the saving, and booking direct is the cheaper decision even at a higher headline fare.
Last updated 28 July 2026. Fees, add-on prices and review scores were checked against FlightHub’s published terms and conditions, the platform review pages, and government sources on the dates shown. Sources: Competition Bureau Canada, “Investigation of FlightHub ends with $5.8M in total penalties for company and directors” (24 February 2021); the Competition Tribunal consent agreement registered the same day; US Department of Transportation aviation consumer protection guidance and the April 2024 refunds final rule; FlightHub terms and conditions; the June 2024 FlightHub and Cover Genius Cancel For Any Reason announcement; and public ratings on Trustpilot, PissedConsumer, ComplaintsBoard, ResellerRatings and the Better Business Bureau, all checked in July 2026. Policies change without notice, so confirm the current terms on your own booking page before you pay.
Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links to Expedia and Booking.com. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We have no commercial relationship with FlightHub, and nothing here is paid placement. This is general consumer information, not legal advice.