ITAsoftware to find flights-how to book?

[Kelmn07]

I am perisistent. I am still trying to find a reasonably priced flight : )

 

After suggestions from several different forums and articles I've read, users suggest itasoftware.com.

 

So I checked it out. Low and behold they show fares a couple hundred dollars cheaper than I've found on any booking engine. But you can't book through ITA. So, I'm not sure what I am supposed to do with the info. I look up the identical flight on orbitz, and it's $200 more. Has anyone ever used ITAsoftware to research and actually received the flight they've found for the price they found it at?

 

Last thing-some forums say to have their TA look it up. I don't have a TA, I've never used a TA. So, if I go to a TA with this, do they charge me to book the tickets?

 

Thanks!

[Twickenham]

Is the flight all on one airline? If so, you should be able to book the same flight on their website. That's what I did this past winter when I found a great rate on ITA for a Delta flight to RSW - was able to pull up the same flight and price on Delta's site.

[Kelmn07]

Hi,

 

Yes it is the same flight numbers, time's etc. As example it is US airways both to Venice and from Rome. Same exact flight numbers, ITA shows me a price of $1018 with all taxes and fees. If I search on Orbitz it is $1132 with all taxes. I also checked the us airways site with a price similar to orbitz.

[jpg1747]

Call the airline or booking site and tell them what fare you found and where you found it. Have it up on your computer screen when you call. They should be able to verify it on their own computers and give you that price.

[Donray]

Hi,

 

Yes it is the same flight numbers, time's etc. As example it is US airways both to Venice and from Rome. Same exact flight numbers, ITA shows me a price of $1018 with all taxes and fees. If I search on Orbitz it is $1132 with all taxes. I also checked the us airways site with a price similar to orbitz.

 

Go directly to US Airways site. No one will have air fares for less then the actual airlines site.

[cruiseron36]

Go directly to US Airways site. No one will have air fares for less then the actual airlines site.

 

\Not true - I have been looking for airfare to Florence in October. The airline site price is more than double than the price from a consolidator.

[FLACRUISER99]

I am perisistent. I am still trying to find a reasonably priced flight : )

 

After suggestions from several different forums and articles I've read, users suggest itasoftware.com.

 

So I checked it out. Low and behold they show fares a couple hundred dollars cheaper than I've found on any booking engine. But you can't book through ITA. So, I'm not sure what I am supposed to do with the info. I look up the identical flight on orbitz, and it's $200 more. Has anyone ever used ITAsoftware to research and actually received the flight they've found for the price they found it at?

 

Last thing-some forums say to have their TA look it up. I don't have a TA, I've never used a TA. So, if I go to a TA with this, do they charge me to book the tickets?

 

Thanks!

Click on the fare you want then Click itinerary details You should see a screen that looks lile this

How to buy this ticket

 

Tickets cannot be purchased directly from ITA Software.

• View itinerary and fare details Provide this information to a travel agent to help them match the fares found.
  Make sure to provide the exact booking and fare codes shown.
   
  Fare 1: Carrier AB OFLYOW2 MIA to DUS (rules)
  Passenger type ADT, ONE-WAY-ONLY fare, booking code O
  Covers MIA-DUS (Coach)
  $279.00Fare 2: Carrier AB QAB1 DUS to ROM (rules)
  Passenger type ADT, ONE-WAY-ONLY fare, booking code Q
  Covers DUS-FCO (Coach)
   
  $68.25AB YQ surcharge (YQ) $202.80German Airport Security Tax (DE) $5.30German Passenger Service Charge (RA) $13.70US International Departure Tax (US) $16.30US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $2.50US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $4.50Subtotal per passenger $592.10Number of passengers x2Total airfare & taxes $1,184.20
  
  • This ticket is non-refundable.
    
  • Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.
    

  Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents)

  MIA AB X/DUS 279.00OFLYOW2 AB ROM M 68.24QAB1 NUC 347.24 END ROE 1.00 XT 16.30US 2.50AY 5.30DE 13.70RA 202.80YQ 4.50XF MIA4.50

   

   

   

   

   

  [*]Email this itinerary

  [*]Print this page

[Gardyloo]

Hi,

 

Yes it is the same flight numbers, time's etc. As example it is US airways both to Venice and from Rome. Same exact flight numbers, ITA shows me a price of $1018 with all taxes and fees. If I search on Orbitz it is $1132 with all taxes. I also checked the us airways site with a price similar to orbitz.

Sometimes ITA doesn't update itself as quickly as the airline itself does; I've sometimes encountered ITA saying a seat was available for XX price but it turns out that bucket has been sold out in the meantime. Remember airline revenue management computers never sleep, and update inventories and prices constantly. ITA only "sweeps" the airline data bases just so often (several times a day at a minimum) so it can be late on occasion.

 

I've also encountered on several occasions where ITA reports a price for one seat at XXX, but when you go to the website and put in 2 (or more) pax you get a higher price all-in, owing to the fact that there's just one seat available in one bucket and the other seat is in a higher bucket.

[Kelmn07]

The question was what to do with the fares once you pick the itinerary, because I've never had a TA before. Do you just call one up and ask them to book a flight for you? And, do they charge on top of the price of the ticket or do they get a cut of the ticket price?

 

Anyway, Gardyloo I agree the prices are a little off, about an hour later they were about right on target with the orbitz/expedia/carrier site pricing. The odd thing was that the original ITA pricing I found I hadn't seen on any other site for over a week now.

 

Also, I didn't quite understand the concept but now I understand that it's more of a better way to search when you have a very particular route. It doesn't really help me as much if I'm searching for a common route.

 

Thanks!

[FlyerTalker]

Occasionally, the ITA routing/pricing is not available. This usually shows up when I check the actual bucket inventory through ExpertFlyer and see that the fare code reported back by ITA is zeroed out on EF.

 

OTOH, ITA has found me MANY a good fare and even more good mileage opportunities.

 

One trick to force the ITA routing. Use the multi-city option on your airline site, put in all of the legs, then indicate that you are more interested in schedule than price. That will often let you "force" the specific flights brought up by ITA into an itinerary, and will price them with the lower cost.

 

Not sure what you mean with your comments about "common route" and "particular route". Can't really respond.

 

Again, YMMV. Try various options. As for Orbitz....why are you trying to book it through them? And, finally, without more specific details, such as airline, dates, routings and the rest, we have to be general in our advice.

[Kelmn07]

First I'll say that appreciate all of your input, each bit from the various questions I've posted have been helpful in my search, so I appreciate everyone's time

 

Not sure what you mean with your comments about "common route" and "particular route". Can't really respond.

My multi leg route is only bos>vce, fco>bos. I consider that a common, or simple route to search for on the various engines.

 

From the forums I've ready re: ITA, it seems to be a more useful search tool if say, I wanted to include more than one airport in the search as one. As an example, I am about an hour from BOS, MHT, and PVD. So, instead of conducting the same search but changing the main aiports, on ITA I could search BOS,MHT, PVD>VCE, FCO>MHT,BOS,PVD all at once, saving a bit of time. That's what I meant by being more particular.

 

Again, YMMV. Try various options. As for Orbitz....why are you trying to book it through them? And, finally, without more specific details, such as airline, dates, routings and the rest, we have to be general in our advice.

I like Orbitz because it's generally cheaper, and for the rare opportunity for the refund check. I've always had excellent customer service with them.

 

Specific details are that I am going BOS (or surrounding airports, but so far pvd and mht involve two layover flights at a higher cost. I've ruled out JFK or EWR, the distance isn't worth the minimal savings)>VCE 10/6, FCO>BOS 10/16. 1 layover max. Want to keep travel times under 14 hours, would like to get to VCE by 1pm and leave FCO after 10am. I've found flights I like, but can't get over the 'what if the price drops' I really just need to set a deadline and make the purchase by that deadline. Then I come across sites like ITA and various resources I never knew about, so I come to the forum because everyone here is always very helpful.

[CruiserBruce]

Hi,

 

Yes it is the same flight numbers, time's etc. As example it is US airways both to Venice and from Rome. Same exact flight numbers, ITA shows me a price of $1018 with all taxes and fees. If I search on Orbitz it is $1132 with all taxes. I also checked the us airways site with a price similar to orbitz.

 

To be honest, I think you are over doing this for about 10%. $1132 isn't all that much more than $1018- certainly not enough to spend hours worrying about.

[greatam]

\Not true - I have been looking for airfare to Florence in October. The airline site price is more than double than the price from a consolidator.

 

I am assuming you know the risks of a consolidator???

[FlyerTalker]

My multi leg route is only bos>vce, fco>bos. I consider that a common, or simple route to search for on the various engines.

Fact is, that one has multiple options available that you could factor in. In that there is no non-stop service from BOS to VCE and only one AZ non-stop back from FCO, there are many options for how you route to VCE (and home). Single connect in the USA, single connect in Europe, double connect (one on each continent) and even triple connects.

 

Sites such as Kayak, Orbitz et al really don't do the hard scraping that ITA does. ITA has put together some great itineraries that never showed up elsewhere. (Sidebar....ITA found me a return on a R/T from YYZ to SEA that involved FOUR segments on DL, but at a savings of over $250 below what the DL website would quote as their "lowest fare". For a mileage junkie not in a rush to get home, it was a no brainer.)

 

Glad that you're working the tools. Now, you need to work on your own decision making process and what kind of price points will get you to pull the trigger. That's very personal, so do what you feel is best. Only you can determine what your "one connect" requirement is worth in terms of a price differential. Same with the other "factors". Good luck in discovering your personal value judgements.

[Jade13]

I am perisistent. I am still trying to find a reasonably priced flight : )

 

After suggestions from several different forums and articles I've read, users suggest itasoftware.com.

 

So I checked it out. Low and behold they show fares a couple hundred dollars cheaper than I've found on any booking engine. But you can't book through ITA. So, I'm not sure what I am supposed to do with the info. I look up the identical flight on orbitz, and it's $200 more. Has anyone ever used ITAsoftware to research and actually received the flight they've found for the price they found it at?

 

Last thing-some forums say to have their TA look it up. I don't have a TA, I've never used a TA. So, if I go to a TA with this, do they charge me to book the tickets?

 

Thanks!

 

I use them to search all the time and always have found my flights right on the airlines website. The software is great for multi-city pricing. A couple of times the ITAsoftware price was not available, so fare must have just sold out.

[cruiseron36]

I am assuming you know the risks of a consolidator???

 

What are the risks? I have used them before and so have some friends? Please tell me before I book. Once they give me an airline booking number what can go wrong?

[Kelmn07]

Glad that you're working the tools. Now, you need to work on your own decision making process and what kind of price points will get you to pull the trigger. That's very personal, so do what you feel is best. Only you can determine what your "one connect" requirement is worth in terms of a price differential. Same with the other "factors". Good luck in discovering your personal value judgements.

 

Thanks, I always appreciate your feedback.

 

And for the other comment about the 10% difference. Sure, 10% doesn't sound like much, but each has their max that they are willing to spend.

[greatam]

What are the risks? I have used them before and so have some friends? Please tell me before I book. Once they give me an airline booking number what can go wrong?

 

1. Change fees are usually twice what the airline charges

 

2. Can't read the entire fare rules so you have no idea what you are buying

 

3. IF your flight changes to an unacceptable time you may not have any recourse. Very often consolidator tickets have restrictions to either fly no matter what time or loose the money. Example: you have a noon flight booked but the flight departure is changed to 9:30AM. You have little chance of making the flight coming off a ship. You just lost your money.

 

4. Read the sticky at the top of this forum for Cruise Air/Air Deviation. Cruise lines also sell consolidator class tickets. Same problems can happen with tickets sold by CheapoAir, BestFares, Vyama, etc. etc.

[cruiseron36]

1. Change fees are usually twice what the airline charges

 

2. Can't read the entire fare rules so you have no idea what you are buying

 

3. IF your flight changes to an unacceptable time you may not have any recourse. Very often consolidator tickets have restrictions to either fly no matter what time or loose the money. Example: you have a noon flight booked but the flight departure is changed to 9:30AM. You have little chance of making the flight coming off a ship. You just lost your money.

 

4. Read the sticky at the top of this forum for Cruise Air/Air Deviation. Cruise lines also sell consolidator class tickets. Same problems can happen with tickets sold by CheapoAir, BestFares, Vyama, etc. etc.

 

I guess I don't see a problem with any of these. Once I get a confirmaion number from the airline I should be OK.

 

I'm looking at a Detroit to Florence flight in October. Several sites can get a Lufthansa flight for about $900 while booking direct with Lufthansa it is $2000.

[cruiseron36]

1. Change fees are usually twice what the airline charges

 

2. Can't read the entire fare rules so you have no idea what you are buying

 

3. IF your flight changes to an unacceptable time you may not have any recourse. Very often consolidator tickets have restrictions to either fly no matter what time or loose the money. Example: you have a noon flight booked but the flight departure is changed to 9:30AM. You have little chance of making the flight coming off a ship. You just lost your money.

 

4. Read the sticky at the top of this forum for Cruise Air/Air Deviation. Cruise lines also sell consolidator class tickets. Same problems can happen with tickets sold by CheapoAir, BestFares, Vyama, etc. etc.

 

I read the other thread. You seem to be very knowledgeable regarding airfares. We are flying in several days before the cruise so a change in time would not be a problem. The consolidator I am looking at also offers insuranve at a price for cancellations, etc. Most of them also state that there may be a day or so wait until they get flight confirmation from the airline, which is OK since there will be no charge if they can't confirm or if the price changes and I decide not to book with them. What other problems might I have?

[Donray]

\Not true - I have been looking for airfare to Florence in October. The airline site price is more than double than the price from a consolidator.

 

Orbtiz is not a consolidator. Not does ITA give consolidator air prices.

 

The OP was not discussing consolidator prices.

[cruiseron36]

Orbtiz is not a consolidator. Not does ITA give consolidator air prices.

 

The OP was not discussing consolidator prices.

 

Sorry about that - I didn't know we had airline consolidator police on the board. Thank you for correcting me.

 

Anyway, when you google consolidators Orbitz does come up as a choice?? Explain that!

[cruiseron36]

1. Change fees are usually twice what the airline charges

 

2. Can't read the entire fare rules so you have no idea what you are buying

 

3. IF your flight changes to an unacceptable time you may not have any recourse. Very often consolidator tickets have restrictions to either fly no matter what time or loose the money. Example: you have a noon flight booked but the flight departure is changed to 9:30AM. You have little chance of making the flight coming off a ship. You just lost your money.

 

4. Read the sticky at the top of this forum for Cruise Air/Air Deviation. Cruise lines also sell consolidator class tickets. Same problems can happen with tickets sold by CheapoAir, BestFares, Vyama, etc. etc.

 

I hope you didn't take my response in the wrong way. I would really like to take advantage of your expertise before I book. I am currently getting the best prices (under $900) from Malinchotravel.com and getawayasap.com for a Lufthansa flight from Detroit to Florence which is currently being sold on the Lufthansa site for $2200,

[CruiserBruce]

I hope you didn't take my response in the wrong way. I would really like to take advantage of your expertise before I book. I am currently getting the best prices (under $900) from Malinchotravel.com and getawayasap.com for a Lufthansa flight from Detroit to Florence which is currently being sold on the Lufthansa site for $2200,

 

Are you sure? 60% off? Something is wrong here.

[cruiseron36]

Are you sure? 60% off? Something is wrong here.

 

No, I am getting similar prices from several sites.