Two Airfare Questions

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I have a couple of questions that have me stumped..hope you can help.

1st...Is there one online booking site that is better than the others? Is there any site that I should stay away from?

2nd..Why is it when I type in 5 adults the ticket price pops up as 478pp. When I went back and typed in 2 adults 1 youth and 2 kids it comes up to 525pp? Why are the kiddos making my trip more expensive? I have tried this on 3 different sites and it is all the same thing.

Thanks so much.

 

[Tara]

I have a couple of questions that have me stumped..hope you can help.

1st...Is there one online booking site that is better than the others? Is there any site that I should stay away from?

In general, sites like Travelocity and Expedia will offer the same fares. I tend to use one to search for general fares, then pick and airline and go to its site to book the travel.

2nd..Why is it when I type in 5 adults the ticket price pops up as 478pp. When I went back and typed in 2 adults 1 youth and 2 kids it comes up to 525pp? Why are the kiddos making my trip more expensive? I have tried this on 3 different sites and it is all the same thing.

Thanks so much.

What site are you using that allows you to differentiate between youths and kids? I assume Orbitz? I've had two friends who both had nightmare experiences with Orbitz and I'd never recommend them based on what I've witnessed. I'm not sure what explains the difference in fares you're seeing except that sometimes airlines offer child fares that are discounted, but they're discounted off a higher coach fare, but Orbitz is showing you the average price per passenger on the flight choices pages.

 

[skiingfast]

I would try this site. www.bing.com/travel It isn't trying to sell you a flight just give you info, it will link you to who is advertising the fare, be it the airline or expedia and so on. I've found it finds more flights for an airline than the airline will list itself. It lets you adjust to fit your needs as well.


Expedia and Travelocity and Orbitz are all the same company they just have each one work different to attract more overall customers.

 

[Tara]

Expedia and Travelocity and Orbitz are all the same company they just have each one work different to attract more overall customers.

This is false.

All three companies listed above are owned by different companies.

Travelocity = owned by Sabre Holdings, Inc.
Expedia = owned by Expedia, Inc (also owns Hotwire, Hotels.com, Trip Advisor)
Orbitz = owned by Orbitz Worldwide (also owns Cheaptickets.com)

Interestingly enough, Orbitz began as a joint venture between American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and United. It is no longer owned by any airline, however.

 

[ancestry]

I, personally, don't ever book through any of the 3rd party sites - ever. I use them as a research tool and then go directly to the airlines Web site and book directly with the airline. I have never gotten a cheaper price for airline tickets (excluding bidding sites) on a 3rd party site that I couldn't get on the airline itself.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Thank you for the info. I will just use them for the info. Is there any difference in going to the website or actually going to the airport itself? When I was very new to this I would go to the airport and buy the tickets there. It was cheaper than going through a TA but I got the customer service.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I, personally, don't ever book through any of the 3rd party sites - ever. I use them as a research tool and then go directly to the airlines Web site and book directly with the airline. I have never gotten a cheaper price for airline tickets (excluding bidding sites) on a 3rd party site that I couldn't get on the airline itself.

When doing that anyway, it makes the most sense to use sites like www.kayak.com and the aforementioned bing.com.

They're not travel websites; they're travel search engines. They don't sell you anything. They assemble pricing based on your search criteria, then YOU {the traveler, not ancestry specifically } choose from which provider to make your purchase. Because bing and Kayak don't sell you anything, it doesn't matter to them which provider you choose.

It does matter that you click through , but it doesn't cost you anything. Again, completely unbiased, and you choose to buy from the provider or an intermediary. After asking us once more for advice

 

[Tara]

Thank you for the info. I will just use them for the info. Is there any difference in going to the website or actually going to the airport itself? When I was very new to this I would go to the airport and buy the tickets there. It was cheaper than going through a TA but I got the customer service.

Almost* all airlines charge a service fee if you buy over the phone or at a ticket counter. Use airline websites for no-fee booking.

*I think Allegiant offers a discount if you buy in person? I can't remember...I know there's a low-fare carrier that does this.