Ian G

Thanks for all the warnings on lastminute.com, what about orbitz.com as a booking service?

lscott

Seems to be excellent from own experience and that of others. Be sure you know what you want before you finalize. Used them near Christmas for member of family with no problems and they were very good at sending emails to acknowledge and advise.

rj

Ian; Look for a very recent thread on this forum about Orbitz. They were highly recommended.

Janice

I just had a fairly catastrophic mix-up on some European travel (my plane to Paris was leaving from Boston before I was scheduled to get there!) and one of the Orbitz reps spent 45 minutes with me on the phone to untangle the problem for the lowest possible cost. So, I'm a fan of this one particular guy, and of Orbitz in general as a result. I like it that the airlines are promoting the use of Orbitz - they seem to be more involved in this than they would be in Expedia or Travelocity.

Iang

BUMP

Vic

Orbitz is owned by the major airlines and provides a large number of domestic fares that are available only on Orbitz and the airlines' websites.<BR><BR>For international flights, Orbitz uses Worldspan which doesn't provide anything special to Orbitz. I don't know if Orbitz is working on an international revision of it unique software or whether it plans exclusive international fares.

Rex

Well, file this under "a day late and a dollar short" - - but Orbitz had some awesome low fares for JUNE and JULY from the east coast and midwest to London and a few other destinations, I think (in the $300 to $400 range, even WITH the taxes included!) over the last 4-5 days - - and they all seem to have expired last night. And no, "we" didn't get any of them snagged for daughter and boyfriend (Darn it!)<BR><BR>I don't know how often this occurs (or if this was the first time) - - but these were strikingly lower than anything comparable on Travelocity. It pays to have your dream trip plans just sitting on the shelf, so you can be ready to act.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Leslie

I cannot say enough nice things about Orbitz. For more comments, I started a thread about my experience with Orbitz a few days ago. You might have to dig for it as it isn't indexed yet.<BR><BR>Let's just say that I've used Orbitz twice. The customer service department is very helpful. And, I had a huge problem since I had purchased Sabena tickets through them. Even though Sabena filed bankruptcy, Orbitz gave me a full refund for the tickets, and I received a credit on my CC in 15 days. I've heard that others trying to get refunds from Travelocity have waited 90 days or more.<BR><BR>Orbitz Customer Service Department is accessible by phone, and they do return telephone calls within a couple of hours. Even if they don't have an immediate answer, they still follow-up so you don't feel like you aren't being listened to. <BR><BR>The tickets I have bought have been for travel to Europe from the east coast, and when I searched for tickets (and I did a thorough search), at those specific times Orbitz' prices were by far the lowest. But, I do have to admit that the prices were "web fares only". Orbitz even beat the price of the specific airlines that I flew on. <BR><BR>Because of Orbitz' refund policies and offers for reaccommodation if scheduled flights are cancelled, I will continue to use Orbitz even if I find its prices are $50 higher than other companies like Expedia and Travelocity. But, these are just my opinions and experiences.<BR>

Fred

Orbitz is generally a fine site - very user friendly. My only caution is that you check on your flights several times before departure. Orbitz does not take responsibility for changes in flights and cancellations. This is particularly problematic if you have booked flights with multiple carriers.

geiffel

Just got a subscriber e-mail from Orbitz. Don't believe that their Europe sale is over yet Rex, just started last night. So all of you interested log on to orbitz.<BR>

Rex

I got that same e-mail from Orbitz - - it's for fares through March 31 (which are pretty good prices, but not spectacular, for this time of year). They aren't as low as the ones I had seen for JUNE and JULY! That's what alerted me to the disappearance of the summer bargains - - got to checking for my daughter and boyfriend this morning - - and they were all gone.<BR>

Rex

The fares I am talking about were first cited on this forum, on Jan 17, at this thread:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1338893<BR><BR>I can top it, but with only a face.

ggrant

Thanks so much to the person who first posted about these great fares. I got $465 including taxes from Atlanta to London Heathrow. I am going to match it up with a cheap fare to Marseille from London and go to Provence for late June, early July. So excited. I have only been to Provence in the dead of winter on a spur of the moment trip last Feb. when I got a cheap fare to Paris. I found the fare last Sat. and stared at it until Sunday, I just couldn't resist. I am going to London, Paris and Prague in March so felt a little guilty but it did not last long!<BR>I am now feeling wonderful planning my trip. My only real snag is air conditioning. I really do not tolerate heat well, it makes me mean and miserable. I am getting an airconditioned car but does it really cool down enough at night not to need A/C in hotel at night. Dates again are June 25 to July 3. Any advice is appreciated. Thinking of St. Remy as base.

ggrant

To Julie, Tried to answer your email but had delivery failure. Here is my reply. I had good weather in Paris and Provence last Feb. (mid Feb.) sunny and cool until the last 3 days. The Mistrial (sp) wind started to blow and it was very cold but I layered up and walked the Isle Sur la Sorgue market and went to Gordes. Returned for final day in Paris and it had turned very cold there too. I am sure it is nothing compared to Minnesota. I would go again in Feb. but I cannot wait to see Provence in Bloom!

Kelly

Most of the good fares seem geared for travel through the end of March. Does anyone know (guess) when we might start seeing some lower Europe fares for September? We'd appreciate your help. Thanks. Kelly

canuck

Maybe someone with a connection at Orbitz will ask them (beg?) to get with the program and include Canada in their bargoons. I tried to book a flight out of the U.S. to a destination within the U.S. but they don't accept credit cards that have an address outside the U.S. I understand if I was trying to originate in Canada but c'mon - why on earth can't they charge a Canadian credit card? Am I missing something?

jane

Lots of sites don't take cards that are from outside the country wherein the site is based. For example, to book on British Airways UK, one needs a British based cc. On Canadian based BA, you need a Canadian based cc. Not sure why.

David

While Orbitz should be fine for service and security since it is owned by many major airlines, I always find lower fares at Qixo.com than at Orbitz. I suggest checking out http://www.geocities.com/travellynx this little website that I found on this message board has many links to different fare finder web sites.

Christina

Sounds like Orbitz is good for customer service but I would advise you really check the fares in several places as I have found them to be very bad for some routes I'm planning this summer in Europe. Worse than Travelocity or some other sights. I like Qixo, also. I'm planning an "open jaw" flight, I guess you'd call it (into one city and out another) and Orbitz does not even come close to giving me the lowest fares for that trip, they won't even list the airline that I know is lowest (having checked it out many different way) nor a few others, so I really wonder how good it is for international travel. The flight I'm considering is about $950 on Air France (and Austrian Airlines or BA) but Orbitz shows the lowest fare at about $1200 (same dates and airports). The $950 fare shows up on Air France, Travelocity, Expedia and Qixo, among others, but Orbitz won't even list Air France for the route I'm seeking even though they are one of the main carriers servicing that city (Krakow).

Thyra

Well I had to cancell tickets that I purchased through ORBITZ. They were restricted, however,I was able to use the credit for my unused purchase for up to a year with only a $75.00 per ticket fee plus, of course the difference in ticket price. Of course not perfect, but I can honestly say that in general the customer service folks I have spoken to have been helpful.. some more then others. My advice is, if you don't feel that the person you are speaking to is being responsive, at Orbitz, wait half an hour and call back, chances are the next person will be fine, at least that's been my experience. <BR>Good Luck.