Skyscanner is a fine site for research. But the links to the companies that sell the flights are just advertising links. Skyscanner does not guarantee that any of those companies are any good, and MANY of them are really bad when it comes to actually providing those prices or having any customer service.

Thank you for your advice

Reliable in what way? Correct fares? I don’t find that particularly accurate but as there’s no website (that I know of) that shows a timetable of who flies from A to B, Skyscanner can be useful for that. It can also be useful & a timesaver as when you click on an option, data is transferred so you don’t key in routes, dates, no of travellers etc all over again. So it’s a bit more than just “advertising links”. There’s an API in place.

But you might not get pricing for checked luggage/ seats at the search point on Skyscanner so not always a good price comparison tool.

As to where to book, there’s no one answer. It depends on your itinerary. Clearly if there’s no or very little difference between airline and an agent, there’s no point in using an agent.

If there’s a big difference & the agent is significantly less expensive, it can be fine. But don’t book unheard of little known obscure agents in a country far away from you. It could end in tears.

I agree with most of the above except the suggestion of booking via an agent if it's much cheaper that's the main reason you don't go anywhere near them and book direct with the airline.

#5:

Booking directly with the airline is your best option in perhaps two thirds or three quarters of cases. It's not always the best option, especially for more complex itineraries which - if they involve competing airlines - will not be offered online by any of the airlines but can be booked, on a single ticket, using an agent. Booking with someone reputable - such as Expedia - bears very little risk.

Also... some agents (and Expedia is one of them) occasionally have specially negotiated fares on specific routes. I have saved four-figure sums (in GBP) booking some KLM Business Class itineraries with Expedia. And these were totally genuine - appeared in my KLM account within minutes of booking.

good for research but dont use it for booking - some very bad ticket sellers pose on there

iata matrix and google flights are also good for research

Skyscanner is great for research. I use it all the time to compare different dates and prices.

You cannot book any flights directly through skyscanner. You would have to choose one of the proffered options, which often includes booking direct with the airline. As noted, some options can be cheaper than booking direct. For our last trip to Portugal, it was much cheaper and better for us to book a British Air flight through Expedia. I could not get the same flight through the BA site. When I telephoned the BA customer service, they could have given me the same Expedia flight booking but at a much higher price. I have also use Expedia for hotels and so far have not had any problems. However, I would be hesitant to select any flight booking agency which I am not familiar with.

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Sky Scanner is useful for finding and comparing flights and their costs, however, it is just an advertising platform which isn't fussy about who can advertise on their site. You'll see most of the shonky OTAs like Go to Gate, e-dreams etc on there

If you see a flight that suits your criteria, then go to the Official Airline site to book it.