Kayak.com???

[5champs]

Hi we are looking to take a trip in August of 2007 and can't pull up any other dates past April 2007 through Jet Blue. So I went to the Kayak.com website and saw that I could book this date and got the flight numbers and the times for this flight. When I go to book it it brings me to the JetBlue Website. But I felt a little leary of doing this since on the REAL JetBlue website you can only book through April 2007. So I called JetBLue and told them what I was trying to do through Kayak. She said they only have flights that go up to April 2007 and she never heard of Kayak and it sounds suspicious that you can give your credit card number to them. Has anyone ever used this website to book theri flights in the past? I really want to book our flight since it is a great fare but I am not sure about this website and Jet BLue seems to know nothing about it. Thanks

 

[anniem923]

Hi,
I use it for informational purposes only and always book directly through the airline. Not sure how they can list flights that don't exist yet but if it were me I would wait till Jet Blue opens up the dates. You have a lot of time yet. SWA does not come up on Kayak BTW, though it is great for comparing so many of the others.
Merry Christmas!
Anne

 

[janets]

I have done it as have others on the boards. The flights are opened up through Kayak but when you want to buy them, you are sent directly to the JetBlue website. It happens a few days before Jetblue gets their own site updated. If the price is right and the times are what you want, then you can go ahead.

I checked for August but the flights I wanted were still too high. I'm going to wait it out a bit, since we're not sure yet we're going and I have a lot of credit in my Jetblue account, so I want to make the most of it.

 

[snowbunny]

You don't give your CC number to Kayak, it's a search engine not a travel agent.

I used the Kayak site to search JB fares a few days before they officially opened up their schedule. The Buy link takes you to JB, as you said, and you are booking with JB. The JB phone reps may or may not know what's happening online.

In the end, although it worked out fine, there was no real reason for me to book that early, there were plenty of seats on the plane and as it happened the fare decreased a few times before our trip, so I ended up calling JB and rebooking for fare credits in the months leading up to our trip.

 

[Jeanne B]

The kayak.com site definitely brings you back to the JetBlue site when it comes time to book. I booked tickets to CA for next June yesterday and my reservation was made through JetBlue. I see kayak recommended often as a good search engine, there's nothing to be leary of. As snowbunny said, the phone reps may or may not know what's going on online.

 

[OhMari]

I used Kayak and then called Midwest Express and saved $15 off each ticket, than what Kayak had quoted.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Kayak is a great research engine, I really like it. But I always go to the airline it self to book.

 

[kaytieeldr]

As snowbunny and JeanneB posted, kayak.com is a travel search engine. From that site, you click through directly to the travel service provider (kayak.com earns its money from the click-through; they're paid by the provider, there's no charge involved for the CUSTOMER). Now, sometimes the lowest price found BY kayak.com is THROUGH an online agency like cheaptickets.com, orbitz.com, etc - companies that DO charge an additional fee for any booking made through those individual sites. Other/often times, the service provider is the airline, hotel, or car rental company itself.

Kayak.com IS a legitimate site and, as others have posted, you are NOT giving that site or its administrators or its staffers ANY information about yourself, personal, financial or otherwise. You'd be giving that information DIRECTLY to the travel service provider - Orbitz, JetBlue, Holiday Inn, whatever.

eta: While I'm not prepared to actually purchase a ticket for an August trip, after linking through TO jetblue.com from kayak.com, it does appear JetBlue would let me complete a ticket purchase (i.e. I got all the way to the "enter your credit card information and click the 'Purchase' button") for a trip several months beyond JetBlue's published schedule.

Also, I noted this information on the linking page:
You are now leaving Kayak.com
• Remember, jetblue.com is selling your ticket (not Kayak.com)
• Contact jetblue.com directly with any reservation questions.
• Double-check your trip details below for 1 Traveler, $217