RachelG

I have been watching air fares from Tulsa to Orlando lately as I am planning to take my youngest on a little spring break trip there--and I have noticed a very deceptive practice on Travelocity's website.
When I put in my dates and destination, it gives me a quoted fare of $303. I pick the flights and then on the next screen, a notice comes up that "the fare has changed" and gives a new fare of about $390. At first, I thought maybe the fare had just changed that minute as I was making my selections. Since I was still in the researching phase, I didn't buy the tickets. When I checked again the next day, same thing--they advertise $303 but then on your final page before you click Buy Now, it gives you a different higher fare. Very sneaky--I bet a lot of people wouldn't notice.
I have bought plenty of tickets from Travelocity in the past and never had this happen before. Has anyone else encountered this?

Mary1

no but I have encountered recently a few times when you go to book an advertised fare and then find that it is not available anymore. You can go back on to the site the next day and it is still advertised.

JamesA

I get annoyed when a fare goes from say $80 to $140 because of all kinds of add on taxes, incurance, security charges. It is interesting to note that 'now' in Australia airlines 'have to' state fares that include any surcharges, taxes, security fees whatever, the fare shown is the fare you paid.

Cassandra

I've had all kinds of trouble booking flights via non-airline websites, and even Orbitz, which is SORT of an airline-owned website. I only use T'city to figure out who goes where and then I go to the airline's home pages. Word to the wise.

quepasa18

I agree with Cassandra. I use sites like Travelocity as research tools. Then I go to the airline's website. Often, although not always, the fare on the airline's site is the same and then you don't have to pay the $5 fee Travelocity and Orbitz charge.

Anne

RachelG

Well, I decided to book my flight yesterday. On AA's website, there was a fare for $322 listed at multiple times--also got this on Travelocity. However, when I tried to book 2 people, the fare went to $349 per person. I went ahead and booked myself at the $322 rate, then called AA. It turns out there is apparently 1 seat per flight at the $322 rate, so I paid $349 for my son--still saved $27 which is good for a meal for the two of us. However, I think it is very deceptive. And if I hadn't been alert, would have ended up paying the higher fare for both of us!

circa

This may not be timely...but thought the subject was interesting.

Yes, I have noticed the same thing with Travelocity. But I would not necessiarly call it deceptive. There are "several" different price structures on any flight. So if the low cost fare is sold out, perhaps the website was not updated properly or in a "timely" manner, but not deceptive.

I agree with you on checking with the airline site. Several times I have found the airline site either lower or better flight times.

Suggestion on research. I use www.smarterliving.com to first locate which airlines fly to my destination, and what flight times. From there I check several other sites, including the carrier's site.

If you figure this ticket thing out, please let us all know....it is a real challenge sometimes!

Keith

The fares are almost always a bit lower on the airlines site, and usually include bonus FF miles.

For exammple, I was checking last minute specials on Travelocity yesterday. They had a package for this weekend, airfare to Philly & rental car.

I checked the airline & rental company's sites, The total cost was about $200, versus $265 at Travelocity.

Keith

suanniammsncom

Hello,
Just wanted to mention same thing has been happening to me while trying to book tickets on orbitz.
Susan

mclaurie

I actually just posted about this problem. On a JFK to MAD route, Travelocity lists a $301 or $307 fare for American & Delta but when you go to pick dates, no availabilities for this price exist and I tried 3 different months. UGH!

AAFrequentFlyer

Read the fare rules..........and follow them.

Also these fares don't include and fees and taxes so on an international flight add between $50-$100.

blondgeek

There's an interesting twist to reading the rules. I booked a Q fare on British Airways thru Travelocity. The rules are virtually incomprensible. When you complete the booking, Travelocity states that if you change your reservation, penalties may apply. I'm thinking, hey, no problem! On my international flight, they might charge $230 to change a flight date. However when I tried to change it, I found out that it is IMPOSSIBLE to change the date. The only thing you can do is book a one-way for different return date.

On the international flights, I have found that Travelocity has better prices than the airline sites and it is much easier to find them. My dates are flexible, so I use the search that finds the least expensive dates to travel.

Some of the airline sites, such as Lufthansa, make you choose specific dates so it takes forever to find an affordable price!

blondgeek

Here is the language that British Airways uses to explain what you can & can't do with a Q fare:

CANCELLATIONS ANY TIME TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE. WAIVED FOR SCHEDULE CHANGE/ILLNESS OR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR FAMILY MEMBER. NOTE - WAIVER FOR ILLNESS ONLY APPLIES IN THE EVENT OF CERTIFIED HOSPITALIZATION. CHANGES ANY TIME CHANGES NOT PERMITTED. NOTE - UPGRADING NOT PERMITTED.

Now, here is the language that Travelocity uses when you book the ticket:

I understand that this fare is non-refundable and carries restrictions as follows:

Once ticket is issued, it may not be reassigned to a different passenger or airline.
Ticket is non-refundable.
Ticket changes may incur penalties and/or increased fares.
This price includes a nonrefundable $5.00 service fee, which may be charged separately to my credit card.

There it is, folks! Don't learn this the hard way, like I did!!!

blondgeek

On the bright side, I do prefer to book on Travelocity. I have gotten some great prices on international fares and I find it very easy to use.

pgmargate

LAST MONTH i tried trvlcty orbitz expedia 4 tix ewr -dubai prices were btwn 8100.& 10300. i waited till the next day while confirming my hotel,i then called my travel agent to boof flight while checking travelocity again same exact flights were 2100. my travel agent friend did not have acess to this price so i booked with travelocity and had tix fed x to me in 2 days . i saved $6100. malaysian air direct booking was 8300.the prices for our flights are constantly changing. i week after i got my tix travelocity went to 10300. has since retreated to approx $1900.

WillTravel

What's even odder with Orbitz is when the higher-priced fares have been stealthily reduced. If you click on a fare, the price occasionally drops (sometimes by a huge amount). More often, the price is higher, but you just have to be very patient when using Orbitz. And it does sometimes have fares that are never matched elsewhere (same with all the sites, for that matter).

rkkwan

All these things are not that unusual. In fact, I've even seen that on airlines' own website. An international fare IAH-EWR-HKG I booked came out about $50 lower than it was displayed when I clicked on it.

WillTravel

You're right - I had a reduction like that happen on United too. In that case, I had left the page open for 1/2 hour or so, and then when I tried to complete the booking, it repriced itself!

Travelermebe

I'm one of those people who check all of the sites for airline ticket prices, but generally end booking at the airline site once I find what I want. However, I was recently surprised by Orbitz when it came up $60 cheaper than United for exactly the same flights on United to and from Hawaii. Since I was buying four tickets, I booked with Orbitz saving the $240.

mimilou

Yes! This just happened to me the other day and it drove me crazy! SO and I booked a trip to Hawaii in October, going from PVD to HNL. Found that the packages offered by the travel sites (expedia, travelocity, etc) were a better deal than buying tix/hotel separately, even from the airlines themselves. When I chose the flight I wanted, Travelocity said "your package price has gone up" blah blah. What? I chose a different flight and was told the same thing. Finally I chose the last flight that had miraculously appeared and got the original price I was quoted. Same thing happened on the return flight; both flights we ended up with are at times that are not what I originally wanted. AND, Travelocity is still showing the price/flight time that I originally wanted...what's up with that? It did irk me, but in the long run I'm going to HI anyway, so that makes me happy!