Booking through Expedia, Travelocity, etc
 

I am in the process of planning a trip to Italy and have been researching flights. So far the best prices have been on Expedia and Travelocity.

A friend told me that I'd be better off paying a little more to book directly with an airline instead of with a booking site. He said that with airlines cancelling more flights lately, if my flight happens to be canceled before I travel, most airlines won't rebook your flight unless you purchased your ticket directly from them.

So my question for all you experts...is there any truth to this? Can I be out hundreds of dollars and left with no ticket if I book with Travelocity or Expedia and the flight I originally buy tickets for is cancelled?

The friend has completely wrong information. If flights get cancelled the airlines rebook no matter what the booking source was.

I prefer to book directly with the airline if their price is within say 5 percent of the discounter or Expedia etc.

regards - tom

sandyy...Your friend is spending way too much time at the water cooler....I have been using a "booking site" for 17 years.I have never been refused rebooking a cancelled flight because I did not book directly with the airlines.

Major problem with booking site is that you have to pay fee, which you likely won't with airline directly, and the airline doesn't always have control of your itin unless you get booking site to release it.

Easier to use the airline site once you know who has best airfare, IMO.

Dave

<paying a little more to book directly with an airline>

Do any of you flying mavens find this to be true? It has not been my <i>general</i> experience with Expedia, Orbitz, or Travelocity. ((*))

I usually find it a couple dollars less to book directly with the airline. Also, if something goes wrong, there is no 'passing of the buck' if you book directly with the airline. I've done both, and usually go directly to the airline if that is an option.

This summer I used Orbitz to fly to Scotland, and it used two (well, three) different airlines. When my baggage was lost, no one fessed up. It took me five days to get it.

I usually book online with the airlines if there fare is close, which it is most of the time, but if you book on the phone the fare is usually $5-10 more.

We always book directly with the airlines - always seem to get the best prices, never any problems getting FF upgrades or getting on the upgrade list and NEVER have any problems if we have to make changes or if flights are ever (rarely happens) cancelled or delayed.

Most flights, booked through whatever means, go smoothly. Most cancelled flights are rebooked without drama.

I have heard of the odd disaster, and they have involved both third-party sites and booking directly with the airline.

I think that if you are concerned, the best approach is to take the cheapest flight that fits your needs, and then buy very good travel insurance.

One thing you do not want to do is to book separate flights on different tickets if you aren't willing to accept the consequences of something going wrong with the first flight and making you miss the second flight. For example, it would be silly, and likely a very expensive mistake, to book one ticket from LAX-JFK, and then book another ticket departing an hour later from JFK (just to show one ridiculous possibility).

<i>Do any of you flying mavens find this to be true? It has not been my general experience with Expedia, Orbitz, or Travelocity.</i>

It depends. I often find better fares on Expedia and the like for foreign airlines. Within the past year, I have booked flights on BA, Air France, KLM, SAS, and Thai where the 3rd party site was cheaper than the airline website, or where it presented flights not bookable with the airline.

For US airlines, the airline web site is almost always cheaper, even if only by a few bucks.

Good info. ((*))

I thought I would chime in here because I have decided nothing makes sense anymore! You need to explore EVERY avenue and REPEATEDLY. Prices seem to change by the hour. While planning a domestic flight this summer from SD to RDU and then flying out of CLT back to SD., I spent hours on travel websites and all avilable airlines. I had assumed the price differences would be very slight to none. After considering all options, expedia came up the best option by about $90, considering connecting times, price, etc. Granted that is not a huge amount, but it was a surprise nonetheless. I flew two different airlines and had no problems. In this case that $90 helped with the outrageous cost of the rental car! (That went down twice from the original reservation, so always contine checking that reservation as they are changeable up to 24 hrs. before pickup.) I also had no problem getting the miles credited to my F #s on both airlilnes.

CORRECTION--i USED ORBITZ..I tried so many options I forgot my final choice!

I wanted to ask on another tale I was told re using booking sites since this topic is up. Flew my neice using Priceline. No issues and all went well. Beforehad though someone had commented to me that if she would have had to cancel prior to checkin, because the ticket was booked through Priceline, the airline wouldn't credit the ticket towards future travel (if used w/i a year)they way they do if purchased directly through the airline. Any experience on that one?

I use the booking sites (Kayak is my favorite for ease of use and flexibility, I love their sliders) for research, and then book through the airlines online.

Is it worth $142.95 savings to book my hotel res. through Expedia as opposed to booking thru the hotel for 1 week stay?

Lisa56 - It depends. I'm assuming that the savings is because of heavy cancellation restrictions, perhaps no frequent guest benefits, and/or prepayment requirements. If you are okay with whatever restrictions they impose, and are comitted to the trip, why not save the money?

Following the tenet that the fewer the cooks the better the pudding, I usually book directly - always with airlines, usually with hotels. If you are shopping for price and find something on a thirid party site that is lower than the direct purchase site, you can contact the merchant and they will often meet or beat the price. If you do book air travel or hotel through a third party site, it is always a good idea to contact the airline or hotel directly to confirm that your reservation is in their system - and get their confirmation number (which may be different than the one you get from the third party site.)

For the OP: Have you checked 1800flyeurope? I've had great luck with them for many years. They do seem to have the best deals from the northeastern states, though, as they are located in Maine.

I, personally, prefer to book directly with the airlines (if not through 1800flyeurope), as I've heard many a sad tale when flights are changed/cancelled booked through third parties.

As for hotels, more often than not Expedia prices are the same or even a bit higher than directly through the hotel (which usually incurs no cancellation fee for cancellation or changes). But, every so often Expedia does have significantly lower rates and I've often booked through them with no problems. I do, just to be sure, verify the reservation directly with the hotel.

Like GreenDragon I used Orbitz to buy tickets to Scotland. Almost didn't get there. When arriving at the check-in for NW/KLM, I was told Orbitz had changed my e-ticket to a paper ticket and I sure never received one!

Fortunately mentioned NW had just called me to confirm my flight the day before so the check-in agent called someone who fixed it easy-peasy (blessings on that invisible person!). There was still an e-ticket number, just a different one from what Orbitz had e-mailed me.

At first I was told to go call Orbitz and sort it out myself. Guess what? I had dutifully printed out all the information I received from Orbitz by e-mail before my flight and any phone number(s) are NOT included. Again, I was so glad the invisible person sorted it out and I enjoyed my trip.

I am leaning in favor of booking direct for a future trip ...

I had a flight from Dublin to Barcelona at 5:00 p.m. two years ago. When I got to the airport at 2:00 p.m., I found out that the flight had already left at 9:00 a.m. No one bothered to tell me there was a time change. I would encourage booking directly with the airline.

Sandyy:

I booked through Expedia for a trip to Europe and my flight dates landed during Hurricane Ike out of Houston, TX.

My air france flights were cancelled the day of my departure. I called the 1800 # for Expedia from the airport and was told that since AF issued the ticket that I had to call them. I called AF and they said since I purchased the ticket through Expedia, I had to call Expedia. Well this went on and on for roughly about 7 days (I had to go stanby on a flight that I booked 6 months earlier). Even in Paris I had to worry about my flights and connections because Expedia was turning out to be of no help. And of course after checking with the Air France office in Paris for my new schedule, unbeknownst to me they gave me the flight information for the one that had originally been cancelled and was supposed to be no longer available.

My advice, book the cheapest filght and book some darn good trip insurance. I know I've learned my lesson

Oh by the way...Expedia's solution...they could assist me with purchasing another ticket (1,183.00) to Europe and they would apply for an immediate refund which I would get well after I returned from Europe...nice people.