ita software help please

[gumballz]

I was wondering if someone could help me. I've checked airfare using the ita software.......but don't know what to do with it after I've found the flights I'm interested in purchasing. Can someone tell me what to do from that point please? Thanks :)

[CruisinMatt]

At the final step click "Booking details" you will get info on what to do next. Basically you either need to call the airlines direct or go to your travel agent. The infomation is like this:

 

If your travel agent is online and has an e-mail address, e-mail this itinerary to them

If your travel agent is not online, print out this page and fax/give it to them

It is very important to use exactly the same booking codes and fare codes that we've used on this page in order to match the price we've found.

[scampi]

I use www.itasoftware.com all the time to find the best & most economical flight for our trips, also for trying to use FFmiles. After I make a selection of the best flight for our plans, I click details & print out the information. I then go to the airline's website & use this info to bring up the same flight on the airline website (knowing the time of departure helps to find the same flight) & book it from the website itself. Sometimes I call the airline for help in booking the flight. You can also use this information to give to your TA (The page you printout of details gives you the information you need to give to your TA.) But a word of advice, even though ita software does show you availability, you have to act fast because that good rate today might be gone tomorrow!

[CruisinMatt]

Thank you for repeating my post scampi! ;)

[gumballz]

I take it from the responses that this company is reliable? Thank you for your help!

[greatam]

I take it from the responses that this company is reliable? Thank you for your help!

 

ITA is software for the travel and airline industry. It was never designed for the general public. Yes, they are a very reliable company. However, you cannot book anything from this software. You can only use it to see what flights are available. And since it is "real time" software, you may see a great flight on American. Then you go to column 2, United. If you refresh the page, the seats (and price) on American may have disappeared entirely. That is how fast the inexpensive fares can disappear.

 

The only way for the general public, not used to fare buckets and booking codes, to get the exact fares you see on ITA is to use a TA or pay the airline booking fee and have the airline book it for you. And even the airlines may NOT book it for you. I have run into this several times with AA. Had to go to the good old AA website and book it by schedule, which takes time and knowhow.

[parody]

Thank you for repeating my post scampi! ;)

 

I don't think that scampi repeated your post. You mention only 2 options, but scampi suggests a third -- trying an airlines' website for booking. While this may not work 100% of the time, it is the first step one should take in using itasoftware.com. A fourth option is to use an online booking site like Orbitz (or Travelocity and/or Expedia). There is a very small possibility that an equivalent fare can be purchased through them even when one includes their extra handling fee.

[gumballz]

I typed in the times and dates on the AA site and came up with the exact same price as I found using the ita software. It appears as though with a little patience you can get those prices you find through ita. :)

[greatam]

I typed in the times and dates on the AA site and came up with the exact same price as I found using the ita software. It appears as though with a little patience you can get those prices you find through ita. :)

 

Congratulations!!! You have now figured out how TA's and frequent business flyers price their airline tickets. Just remember, ITA is not a booking engine nor a travel agency. It is strictly software for the airline and travel industry.

[parody]

And since it is "real time" software

 

Do you know this as an absolute fact? My understanding is that it uses data that is refreshed every couple of hours throughout the day, much like most other search engines. (This is why when one goes to book a particular flight, the fare and availability conditions may have changed.) Presumably itasoftware.com has released a beta version wherein one can find out how "old" the data is for the search that one conducts. However, I don't believe that the beta version has been released to the general public. Please let me know if my information is incorrect.

[CruisinMatt]

I don't think that scampi repeated your post. You mention only 2 options, but scampi suggests a third

 

Oh well, I was in a bad mood last night, sorry.

[scampi]

Actually I was typing my post at the same time that you were submitting your reply so I didn't see your post until later. It's o.k. cruisinmatt, the wink smilie helped. :)