Need flight from Istanbul to Odessa. Book on the airline site or on Orbitz?

I do most of my flying on Delta and only very infrequently wind up booking through anything but their familiar website. For an upcoming trip I need to fly from Istanbul to Odessa and Delta just doesn't go there. I've found a flight on Turkish Airlines that I can book either through their site or on Orbitz. Need guidance on which approach is smarter. Neither site will let me choose seats yet for a May flight. The Turkish Air site says I can't do that until Feb. 13 and the Orbitz site just says not available for seat selection yet. Which approach will make it easier for me to select seats when it comes time? Which will be best in case there wind up being any issues with the flight, etc? Price is almost identical so no issues there.

I guess this question is a lot like the one that so frequently gets asked about whether it is better to book a hotel directly through the hotel's website or through a booking site like Booking.com.

So, are there any advantages to booking direct vs. through Orbitz? Any downsides? Please share your insights and experiences. Thanks.

I would always book with the airline rather than a third party site unless there was a significant price difference. If anything goes wrong, which isn't rare these days, you'll be better off dealing with the airline.

When I bought tickets from Turkish Airlines I wound up calling the New York office, very helpful. Do remember that it will be considered a foreign transaction by your CC company.

Thanks for rec and for reminding me about foreign transaction fee. Hadn't thought about that.

You may need to warn your credit card company in advance so it will permit the transaction. Or maybe not; policies seem to vary.

I've flown with Turkish several times in Europe and the Middle East and have always had good experiences. I too make it a policy to book directly with the airline.

I booked my flight with Turkish on the United website since they are Star Alliance.

I am having no end of problems trying to book with Turkish. Promised price no being met.
How do I find the NY office number. No success yet.

How is regular coach versus Economy Premium/Comfort?

Have you tried the number on the USA web site?

I posted this on your other thread.

kybourbon on Jun 3, 13 at 6:32am

Does this one go to Turkey?

Service Center USA

Monday to Friday:
Phone: +1 800 874 8875
Working Hours: 09:00 AM - 05:30 PM (PST)* Closed on weekends and public holidays.

You can also select one of these.

http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us...s/offices.aspx

If you don't get any response to hose numbers, ask on the Turkish Airlines forum on Flyertalk.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/turki...es-smiles-641/