ellen_griswold

Dearest Fodorites,

Whats been your experience with Cheaptickets.com?

I travel extensively for work, but mostly by car. When i fly for work my company treats us well - not always biz class but never any of this connecting crap. So while i'm not a true frequent flyer, i'm used to getting to point A to point B directly with no hassles (usually) on a major carrier's big bird, no lil puddle jumpers.

So this cheaptickets and orbitz stuff rubs me the wrong way big time. DH says i'm a travel snob, and maybe i am in some ways. But i'm realizing i'd rather pay big(ger) bucks for the convenience of a direct flight on a carrier i use and trust (CO or Delta).

So whats been your experience with these bargain basement sites? Any cancellation nightmares? Thats another issue as my schedule is so volatile right now...

Hey i can plan a road trip in my sleep virtually ANYWHERE in this country but this flying stuff is making me craaaaaazzy--- its for the birds (pun intended :-< )

TIA for any of your expert ideas.

rkkwan

I don't understand. Cheaptickets and Orbitz, etc are just online travel agents. You know what airline you're flying. In fact, you most likely will get the same fare minus the $5-10 service fees, when you book directly through the airline.

So, you can search through those sites, and then if you see a low fare, go check the airline's website to see if that's available.

In general, unless they have some "exclusive" fares that are significantly lower, or you're on a complex itinerary that you can't book directly through the airline, I'd book directly. Easier to deal with if there's schedule change or other "issues".

Patty

I don't understand the issue either. Like rkkwan said, these are just third party booking sites. Fares, schedules, carriers, and equipment should all be listed. Cancellation penalties are based on the airline's fare class and should be disclosed somewhere in the booking process. For the most part, the fares are no different than what you'd find on the airline's own website.

Perhaps you're thinking of opaque sites like Priceline or Hotwire?

Frank

I use sites like cheaptickets and travelocity to check fares. Theses are great sites to consolidate all the airlines together on one screen. It saves having to go to each individual airline site to check prices. When I find a route and fare I like, I book it on the actual airline site.

LN

Hi Ellen

I've used Orbitz and Expedia a good deal stateside and recently used Orbitz for our trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. You can book non-stop tickets on Orbitz - the search engine actually shows all available types. Look at it a few times and then you might change your mind.
Ellen

CRose10328

I recently found an openjaw flight to Europe that I want to buy on Cheaptickets. When I found the flight I wanted, which was on NWA, I went to their webpage and the same flight was $110 more expensive. I'm leaning toward booking on CheapTickets. I've used Expedia without problems in the past. Anybody booked directly through CheapTickets or had any bad experiences?

Gardyloo

Cheaptickets and Orbitz are both brands owned by the same company, Travelport, (formerly Cendant.) Travelport also owns the Galileo GDS service and several other brands - ebookers, Octopus...

Market segmentation is the name of the game.

Sometimes one can see deals on the big online travel agencies like Orbitz or CT or Travelocity that you can't find on the airline websites - they will be highly restricted tickets "bulk" sold through those agencies. Sometimes they won't even show up on the GDS screens (Galileo, Sabre, Amadeus etc.) because they're sweet deals conveyed just to those companies (and there really isn't any way to know in advance when they'll show up or for how long.) ALWAYS read the terms and conditions of those ultra-bargain fares carefully - often they are even more restrictive re changes, refunds, etc. than the average bear, and that's saying something.