For those who book airfare online

[chimera]

This column on cheaper airfare appeared in the business section of today's Philadelphia Inquirer. It may be of interest to those who book air/hotels/cars online.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/

[Candy]

I don't care to sign up... what'd it say?

This column on cheaper airfare appeared in the business section of today's Philadelphia Inquirer. It may be of interest to those who book air/hotels/cars online.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/

[Ziggy7]

I don't care to sign up... what'd it say?
Weird I didnt have to sign up, it just came up. Anyway here's what it said :)

Posted on Sat, Oct. 09, 2004

Consumer Watch | Cheaper airfares now easier to find

By Jeff Gelles

Inquirer Columnist

The Holy Grail of Internet shopping is being able to go online, click a few times, and find the exact product or service you want at the best possible price.

Many sites promise it, but rarely with any credibility. Online travel services have been a particular disappointment.

Orbitz, for instance, says it was created "to address consumers' need for an unbiased, comprehensive display of fares and rates in a single location." By that standard, its limitations - especially its omission of prices from discount carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue - could hardly be more glaring.

But a new breed of travel search engines may change your mind. These tools have taken a quantum leap beyond the familiar online travel services by approaching the task more as you or I would - if we had a whole lot of time on our hands to check dozens of sources for deals. These search engines may not be able to replace a skilled travel agent, but they come a lot closer than any of their predecessors.

How they work

One key difference is that these services act as online shoppers rather than as online travel agents, the middleman role taken by sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia.

SideStep says it checks everything from Orbitz to all the major airlines to consolidators such as Airfare.com to low-cost carriers such as JetBlue, Southwest and Independence Air.

If a price and itinerary match your needs, SideStep won't book your flights or charge your credit card. Instead, it redirects you to the Web site of the source whose offer caught your eye, and takes a small cut for providing the link.

One drawback to SideStep, for the moment, is that its airline search tool is available only as a download. Once you install the program, it loads whenever you visit a site such as www.orbitz.com or www.usairways.com, copies the terms of your search, and offers to also check prices.

Don't like to download programs? SideStep will be available as a Web-based search engine this fall, and already has Web searching available for rental cars (www.sidestepcars.com) and hotels (www.sidestephotels.com).

No need to wait

SideStep has been around for five years, but lately the travel search-engine concept has caught fire. SideStep has been beaten to the Web by beta-test versions of Mobissimo (www.mobissimo.com), Yahoo's FareChase (www.farechase.com), and - just this week - Kayak (www.kayak.com).

These sites aren't perfect, but it's easy to see why people quickly become fans.

Mobissimo appears particularly strong for international travel because it searches a variety of European sources. One drawback: Its list of deals doesn't indicate whether a price is for a nonstop trip. For that, you have to click through to the source.

In informal tests this week, I found that each of these travel search engines is likely to match the traditional sites if you're booking well ahead on a highly competitive route, such as Philadelphia to San Francisco.

Where they shine, though, is for travel at times and to places where competition is less robust. On Thursday, for example, I checked prices for a trip from Philadelphia to Dallas/Fort Worth, leaving tomorrow and returning Tuesday.

On Orbitz, the best nonstop price was $1,908, available from US Airways and American Airlines, and the best fare overall was a one-stop itinerary on ATA Airlines, via Chicago, for $454.

All the search-engine sites did better. FareChase and Kayak, for instance, both found a "Web Special" itinerary on AirTran Airways, via Atlanta, for $218 - a savings of more than 50 percent off Orbitz's best deal. (Orbitz's best price for the AirTran route was $546.)

One warning: If you try these search engines, beware of flaws, especially in the beta versions, and read carefully before you pay.

Kayak's results for my Dallas trip claimed to offer a cheaper nonstop fare, but one leg took a suspiciously long six hours. When I was led to the American Express site where it found the fare, the truth came out: The flight was direct, but not nonstop.

Bugs or not, these sites are worth a look for any price-sensitive traveler.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't use sites such as Orbitz, etc.

I book our airline tickets directly with AA or Delta or whomever on line.

I get to see and choose the flights I want.

[mmacdcc]

I usually go to Orbitz/Expedia/Travelocity to see what airlines fly where I want to go, and what the fares are. Then I'll go directly to the airline site and check, the price is often the same as the travel sites. Southwest doesn't work with them, so if you want to see their prices you have to go directly to them -- so I check them as well.

There have been a few times I've booked with Expedia (usually because it was multiple airlines to where I wanted to go and/or work-related), and that's worked fine too.

[MandyGirl]

Southwest doesn't work with them, so if you want to see their prices you have to go directly to them -- so I check them as well. Like mmacdcc, I use the online websites to just get an idea of days/times/carriers and then go to the specific websites to see fares there. I definitely check the low-cost carriers as well although I've got tons of FF miles I need to use on other carriers (that I can't ever seem to use since the number of FF seats available on flights is so limited with some carriers).

That is correct about Southwest not using Orbitz. Here is an online article (http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/05/08/southwest.sues.orbitz.idg/) that explains some of that history. I recall Orbitz would post ridiculous flight schedules - like trying to go from HOU to San Diego and Orbitz would route you through some random city elsewhere in the nation totally out of the way. But you could go to the Southwest website (www.southwest.com) directly and view the accurate flight schedules (nonstop / direct / connecting) and accurate fares (much much cheaper than Orbitz advertised).

[ron46936]

I've not found any single solution to provide the best results in terms of price and flight selection. I usually check Orbitz and the individual airlines websites. Sometimes Orbitz offers the best value. Since we usually fly from Indianapolis, ATA usually offers non-stop flights at good prices. Their best prices are always on their own website.

[ekerr19]

I don't like SideStep at all and I usually book directly with the airline website (if possible) we found on British Air, we were unable to arrive in on city and depart from another so we used Expedia.

Problem was, when we received the paper tickets, they had my MIL's DH's first and middle names reversed. Called BA, they said it should be no problem - we'll see... it better not be! We leave in three weeks.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Me, too. I book directly with the airline websites. Fact is, if you book thru Orbitz they add $5 to the cost. Who needs that?

It's easy for me because if Southwest flies there I'm on the plane. I love that airline like my own child. It has an easy point system for frequent fliers and great fares.

One of the reasons I was able to book a cruise out of LA was that I can fly one way from Ft. Lauderdale on Southwest for about $100 per person and we don't even have to get off the plane. You can't beat that when others were quoting over $300 one way and having to change planes twice.

[MISSYLOU]

Like others I use Orbitz and the Airlines websites. Wherever I can get the best price at the times I want. I especially like the features some of these sites offer in notifying you by email of fare sales, any changes in flight times or by cell phone up to three hours before the flight. And e-tickets are definitely the way to go. It's the best way to become a savy shopper when it comes to airfare.

Krazy Kruser buying on line you can still select your flight times. Just have to be aware of direct or non stop or extended layovers.

A friend at work just bought airline tickets over the internet. When here DH found out they have e-tickets he said "no way am I going to the airport with and e-ticket". The next day she had to go to our SATO office and pay them $18. to print out regular tickets. Needless to say this couple doesn't travel very much.

[stanjj111]

I check all general sites and then the airlines directly. These days the sites such as orbitz, expedia add charges. The airlines add charges if you book with an agent. I booked a fare for my son from Orlando to NY. The fare was$49 each way. Once I got through with the taxes, fees, security fees it cost me $125,

[mmacdcc]

We can fly out of either BWI or Philly, so I'll check both. It really makes no sense though, as to which one will have the cheaper price. If we're going to FL, I usually just go to AirTran's site and check there. They have the most flights, and the most non-stop flights. I really don't want to get on a plane in Philly, fly to Cleveland, wait a couple of hours, and then fly to Orlando. If I'm going to spend 10 hrs on planes and in airports, I might as well drive and not have to rent a car.

But when I had to go to Milwaukee on business, it was less than half the price to fly out of BWI. When we went to Las Vegas, it was cheaper to fly out of Philly (which makes absolutely NO sense).

Now that Southwest flies out of both BWI and Philly, the prices out of Philly have dropped a bit (they're competing with USAir, which has Philly as a hub, but who knows how long that will last). If I'm flying to England, I fly out of Philly (usually on British Air) because it's cheaper.

You have to check lots of places, understand how their pricing works (AirTran and Southwest prices are one-way, and they don't care where you start) and be prepared to wait for a while and jump on a price when it looks really good.

It's frustrating, to say the least. You always feel like you've been cheated somehow.

I've already booked our air to Ft. Lauderdale for our cruise in Dec. (with AirTran, cuz they do non-stop at decent times), but only because the fare was good and I know it's not going to drop much between now and Nov. Otherwise, I'd be checking fares everyday.

[momrox1]

A big thank you for posting the sites for discount airfare. I especially liked farechase.com. Very user friendly and I found it to be most accurate. :)

[steelcity5044]

I have a flight booked in January on USA3000. It is nonstop from Pittsburgh to Ft Lauderdale at on $137.00 pp. Therre is even a movie and a hot meal!!! Curious to see how it is.

[hadleys9538]

I used Sidestep to quickly see a variety of options/prices for my flight from Indy to LAX coming up in March. With ATA (one of our major carriers) on the brink of bankruptcy, I knew I wanted to avoid them, AND I definitely wanted a nonstop flight on the way out, so I have the best chance of having my luggage with me for the cruise. Anyway, in the end, Sidestep gave me a lot of good information, but I did end up booking the actual flight through Northwest. They actually have the only one-way flight leaving Indy on the day I need. Unfortunately, Southwest won't book this far out, and because it is Spring break week, I'm not taking any chances. We gotta be on that ship! :D Happy cruising AND flying! -- Cheryl