Warning: online travel agencies not all the same
When the Internet Age began with online airline bookings, there were basically four big guys on the block — Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and OneTravel.com. Yahoo had some sort of travel engine as well, but it didn’t get much attention. Today, the sector has exploded and the flight deals available on these sites can be very different.
I just went through a dizzying process of booking a flight from Boston to Venice for August. I was amazed at the differences in airfares. Here is a list of the Web sites I checked.
Kayak.com — Sidestep.com — Expedia.com — Orbitz.com — Travelocity.com — cheapflights.com — Airfare.com — Cheapair.com — Cheaptickets.com — Mobissimo.com — BA.com — Priceline.com — Vayama.com — AA.com — alitalia.com — Delta.com — 1800flyeurope.com — USAirways.com — AirFrance.com — Iberia.com — Cheapoair.com — Lessno.com — edreams.com — and I’m sure there were more.
Whew!
All of these sites rarely had matching fares. Booking fees, airfares, connections, even airlines were different — it was chaotic. In the end, a combination fare presented by Cheaptickets.com was the winner, flying me from Boston to Paris on American Airlines and from Paris to Venice on Alitalia (on a flight operated by Air France).
The cost was $887 round trip. At the time I booked the ticket, it was more than $150 less than the next closest airfare.
This American Airlines/Alitalia ticket was a ticket between airlines that are not members of the same airline alliance or that share loyalty programs. The ticket could not be booked through aa.com nor through alitalia.com. It was a creation made possible by Cheaptickets combining fares that normally would not have been combined.
The lesson in my marathon search is that, today, it pays to try a collection of sites prior to purchasing rather than only three that I once recommended. In another search the airfare differences were in the range of $200 for identical routings. That can make a huge difference when they are multiplied by three or more passengers when families are traveling.
Don’t believe those “lowest fare” guarantees. There are so many variables that fulfilling the guarantee parameters is next to impossible.
Every site seems to have different deal with various airlines. For another flight, Airfare.com had the best rates out of Washington, but only until the end of August when evidently their deal with Iberia ended. With another online travel agency, American Airlines had better bargains than found on the airline’s own site.
And keep checking code-share flights. Swiss Air Lines was selling seats on United flights from Dulles to Zurich for less that United, even though the flight was operated by United. My Alitalia ticket on Air France cost less than I could have purchased it from Air France.
Go figure.
Be careful of outrageous connections when booking cheap flights. The best deals often involve changing airports (especially those passing through London) or a full day sitting around the airport. Both are a real drag, especially when faced with these delays after a long, uncomfortable transatlantic flight. In my case, avoiding JFK is a priority.
Better yet, look for a travel agent that can do the legwork for you and who has access to additional consolidator fares. A good travel agent is worth his or her weight in gold. Fortunately, their fees are affordable and make planning travel easier as the Web gets more complicated.
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7 Responses to “Warning: online travel agencies not all the same”
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“The lesson in my marathon search is that, today, it pays to try a collection of sites prior to purchasing rather than only three that I once recommended.”
The bottom line is that there are only 2-3 airlines serving your desired route, so based on the fact that you are most likely to get the cheapest ticket from the airline itself and not the OTA (which will charge their booking/admin fee), go to http://www.whichbudget.com, find out which budget airline flies your route and check the prices directly on the airline’s website.
“The cost was $887 round trip. At the time I booked the ticket, it was more than $150 less than the next closest airfare.
This American Airlines/Alitalia ticket was a ticket between airlines that are not members of the same airline alliance or that share loyalty programs. The ticket could not be booked through aa.com nor through alitalia.com. It was a creation made possible by Cheaptickets combining fares that normally would not have been combined.”
I’m a Travel Agent who uses Sabre and Charlie, Sabre would have produced the same itinerary/fare for you. I assume the other DRS do the same. So another option is to use a Travel Agent - one who would have come up with the fare pretty quickly and would have saved you the time and the experience you had searching so many different booking engine websites.
Hi Charlie,
What happens if Alitalia files for bancruptcy? Did Cheaptickets advise you that particular airline is on very shaky grounds?
No need to say OTASs customers support is horrible, In my case, in particular, EXPEDIA tried to scam me once (click on my name to read about my case).
For me the best way is to look in Kayak and then book dirctly qith the airlines or hotels
I have been a travel “professional” for over 20 years in a retail agency.
It comes as no surprise that persons like yourself tout how much you’ve saved by booking all by yourself.
Although you mentioned you searched & searched, you neglected to mention the hours upon hours spent and frustrations you encountered while doing so.
We (travel agents) should be pleased? that you made mere mention of travel agents in your article’s last sentence. To your possible surprise, we are not.
The way in which you drop mention of travel agents ….”that can do the legwork for you…..” flat out tells consumers that they should contact us, have us do the work & give them the information so they can then go online & book it themselves.
Travel professionals, like myself, do know the in’s & out’s, plus we have a few tricks up our sleeves. We certainly not only have the best intersest of our clients in mind, but “shop” for the them & know exactly what we are purchasing (avoiding god awful Heathrow & Gatwick or JFK & Laguardia connections).
For all this saving of money, saving of santiy we charge small fees. Travel agencies are a business, and businesses of all sorts are in business to make some money. Ours just happens to be fee based (like a doctor, plumber or lawyer) only a LOT less.
It would be nice if (for a change) we were recognized as the educated, professional & caring people we are - who are in business.
Kim,
I’m sorry if you took my comment to mean, pick a travel agent’s brain and then screw them by booking somewhere else. I have added to that last paragraph to try and show that I feel travel agents can be well worth whatever travelers have to pay for their services.
Charlie
Just a warning: I booked two international tickets through Cheaptickets.com. For the first ticket, the departure flight was smooth. However, before taking the return flight I checked my itinerary with the airline, only to find that Cheaptickets had canceled the booking immediately after I paid. Cheaptickets was absolutely no help, insisting there was no problem even though the airline told me I wouldn’t be able to fly as it was. Eventually, an airline rep went above and beyond and booked me at no charge on the same flight. All was well, despite Cheapticket’s best efforts.
The second time I bought a ticket from Cheaptickets (before the aforementioned debacle), I received a confirmation but then received another email that said sorry but it couldn’t be booked, that I wouldn’t be charged, and to please try again. I immediately bought another (expensive) ticket, and was subsequently charged for both! It took numerous emails and phone calls to get results and I was accused of lying. Only a month later did I receive a full refund.
The moral of the story? Sometimes paying a little bit more to book through a more reputable company is worth it for the saved headache and time down the road.