Orbitz's "multiple carrier." 1 ticket or 2? Missed connection?
 

Because Orbitz's "multiple carrier" tickets are usually the lowest priced, I'm considering buying one of them: Seattle to Paris via Newark using Continental and Air India. But is this type of "mix and match" ticket safe to use? And is Orbitz the only booking agency that offers multiple carriers? (Yes, yes, I know that Air India receives bad reviews here but I haven't ruled it completely out yet.) Has anyone experienced problems in similar mutli-carrier situations? For instance, in my example, if the Continental inbound to EWR is delayed causing me to miss the 2 hour connection to the Air India flight to CDG, who would logically be responsible for rebooking me to CDG at no additional cost? According to a post on 1-4-06 "the delivering carrier must accept responsibility" for missed connections but only if both segments are on "one ticket." In this type of Orbitz booking are both segments likely to "be on one ticket"? An e ticket? Or in a multiple carrier arrangement like this which involves an international segment would both segments be on one PAPER ticket? Anyone had any experiences which could shed light on this? (I already emailed Orbitz's customer service about this but they were vague, replying at first, "call Orbitz" and in a second email they said that I should "talk to the 'airlines involved' because 'they' should take care of me."

"who would logically be responsible for rebooking me to CDG at no additional cost?" - in theory, Orbitz. But in reality, you are!

Type Orbitz in the search window to read some rants about Orbitz. If you have only 2 hours between the flights, it's very risky with multiple carriers.

Try Kayak website to see if there is anything cheaper or comparable.

No problems with multiple airlines as long as it's all on one ticket which I'm sure Orbitz will sell you. Once you check in the airlines "takeover" the ticket so no need to deal with Orbitz.

Wheteher it's a paper ticket or an e-ticket really doesn't matter. If for some reason Orbitz needs to issue a paper ticket then all the flights will be on it, not just 1 segment.

If CO is delayed, then you walk up to CO customer service counter or call CO and they will find alternative possibilities.

IMHO, nothing to worry about.


Reporting from Cracow, Poland.

It's "one ticket".

For your itinerary, it's most likely to be a ticket issued by Air India.

While you will get to your destination <b>eventually</b> without added cost, there's always added risk and hassle when flying two carriers; as chances are you will be running around Newark to find an agent that's knowledgeable enough to get your ticket sorted out.

Agreed as above. Note that multiple carrier tickets are not unusual and all travel agents and most airlines do them routinely.