Cheaptickets vs Delta vs Alitalia
 

I *always* buy airfare from the airline. I only use the 'consolidator' sites to point me to the airline with best rates.

I have been following a set of flights Orlando/Rome - - Venice/Orlando on the chosen travel dates for group of 4. I've sat on it, biding time to see if prices would go down any. Nope - they have gone up a few times, then back to the 'set point'. Preferred seats are starting to be siphoned off, so I'm ready to commit soon.

I saw today on Cheaptickets that the exact same flights were priced $100-150 lower per person, but shown as a 'code share'. In other words, the Delta flight is listed as Alitalia ("operated by Delta"). So they are actually the very same ones I want.

I have concerns about some feedback I've found on the net (forums, etc) but also plenty of positive remarks re: Cheaptickets. If it were just the two of us, I wouldn't hesitate, but I will be booking 2 more fares with someone else's credit card.

If anything changes (flights, connecting times,etc) who is the entity that will handle my issues? Cheaptickets? Delta? Alitalia? I may not be wired for this kind of arrangement. How does it all work?

IMO if anything changes YOU will be that "entity" unless you book with an agency/airline which notifies you promptly when anything changes.

IOW you'd best check frequently after you book and I would do it with the carrier directly in terms of checking times, connections, etc.

Hi-

My husband went to Switzerland for a week with a friend and I booked their tickets on Cheaptickets because they were the best deal at the time. It was a United/Swiss Air Code share.

They were easy to use. There was a 5 minute change to the itinerary time and Cheaptickets notified us via email. After that, I think you would have to contact the airlines with any issues.

You will need everyone's Passport info when booking so make sure to have that handy.

We were able to book the seats ahead of time online, but only on the United flights. They ended up with random assigned seats, not together, on the Swiss portion and could not change at the airport because the flight was full. Part of this is our fault-I think we would have been able to book the Swiss seats in advance by calling them, but didn't really pay attention.

A couple of years ago I did have one problem with Cheaptickets-I booked us two tickets, gave my CC info and then received an email a few hours later that they tickets were no longer availble. Unfortunately, they had already charged my card and it took me almost a month to get a refund.

This time, I took a leap of faith using them again because the cost savings were worth it (almost $300 per ticket).

"..You will need everyone's Passport info when booking so make sure to have that handy..."

- - well that cinches it for now - one traveler has just applied for her passport (for Sept. travel).. that must be a Cheaptickets requirement, as I've not had to enter passport info on airline websites. Thanks for pointing that out.

I booked flights Boston/Paris with cheaptickets once because the fare was $150 lower than the same flights directly through Air France. Everything went just fine.

No matter how you book, it's best to double check your booking for flight times/numbers - they change all the time.

In general, before you commence your travel, changes are handled by the travel agent - Cheaptickets, in your case.

After that, it's the airline that issues your ticket - which is Alitalia. But once you get to the airport and/or checked-in, and there's say mechanical or other issues, then the operating airline will need to take care of you.

At least that's the theory. In practice, there are gray areas. Have local and toll-free numbers (US and Europe) ready for all parties, just in case.

Kristina, regarding the seats when flying within Europe.

For a flight that originates in the US but has a connection within Europe we were told those European flight seats are not preassignable.

Last August four of flew from Dulles to Paris by way of Frankfurt on Lufthansa or we were supposed to but that is another long story.

We were given seats from Dulles to Frankfurt but we were not given seats from Frankfurt to Paris. We were told those could not be booked ahead of time and would only be assigned upon our arrival at Frankfurt. I tried to book seats directly with Lufthansa, we were using USAir dividend miles to fly but again we were told the seats would be given to us upon arrival. It was such a short flight between the two cities and there were so many flights it wasn't a problem.

I had the impression this was the standard procedure for intra-european flights.


Travelnut, whenever I book a transatlantic flights I want to always make sure I can choose my seat. I have looked at Cheaptickets and several other non airline sites and before I would book I want some reassurance I can select my seat. One time I had a window and my husband had an aisle seat because that is our preference. Only problem was the assigned seats were four rows apart ;;) Thought it would be a no-brainer that a party of two booked together with the same last name would be seated together. Deborah

Deborah-
His seats on Swiss were JFK to Geneva, so I don't know why we could not book them ahead.

I checked them in online on United.com and when I did, they assigned the Swiss seats.

Travelnut, come to think of it, I don't know if they needed the passport number or not, but they certainly needed the "exact spelling" of the Passport name. However, I've also had Airlines ask for a passport number when booking tickets, so you may have to wait anyway.

I have used Cheaptickets tice times, this past Christmas and again for my trip this June. I did not have to provide any Passport information when I booked. If there is a change in times/schedules, they email you. I had it happen several times, but it was only a matter of a few minutes difference. I have had good experiences with them, and they had the best price!

Obviously, I meant two times! Guess I started to type twice and changed my mind...

So - are you saying on CheapTickets I can't choose my seats during the booking process?

If 'no', when <i>can</i> one choose the seats?

Ok, the FAQ says the airline will assign initially, but then I could go into the ChpTckt record and 'view/change' the seating.

I've used online agencies to purchase tickets, and then called the airlines directly to select seats. Thus far, I've had no negative consequences no matter how I have purchased the tickets, either from the airline or from an in-person agency or from an online agency.

I agree about the intra-Europe flights, although almost all the flights I've taken have been on budget carriers. But even with legacy carriers, there isn't typically seat assignment available.