I am looking for info on websites such as onetime.com, sidestep.com, orbitz.com that one can secure cheaper air fares. Are they dependable? And if a problem arises do you deal with the airline you are booked on or the website you booked through?

I've given up on orbitz. They show amazing prices, but then when you look at an individual option, that price is no longer available. One time, to check, I went through more than two dozen listed items before I found a valid one. A waste of my time, and I won't use it any more.

My experience has been the same as capxxx. I usually run fares on kayak or sidestep.

sidestep.com and qixo.com are the two that I use almost all the time. I have the sidestep.com application that runs simultaneously on the side of the screen if I do a search on orbitz.com or any airline site.

I use Expedia to price, then book directly with the airline. I know this may not the cheapest way necessarily, but I prefer dealing direct with the carrier I will be flying, not a 'middle-man'. That's just me.

Sidestep save me almost $300 per person (x5 people) on a trip to Kauai. Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity were showing the exact same flight at $700+, and Sidestep found it for $450. I had been checking for weeks.

Kayak found me a $900 airfare on 2 days notice from LAX to Germany for the World Cup last year. The lowest fare I had found on the other sites was $2500.

I use these as search engines and then usually book with the airline directly.

Thanks for the info. It appears that these sites locate good fares and then you booked with the airline. So far, I haven't found that the airline has that low fare. Am I missing something? Another step.

Those search engines will find the lowest fares that there are. If they're not showing fares you can live with consider trying another day of the week - or look at any alternate nearby airports.

There are certain destinations, times of year and specific days that are either just more expensive - or the cheaper seats are already sold out.