Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 68053	2006-04-15 14:49:00	Doing Flight Bookings Online	vodafone (9466)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
446550	2006-04-15 14:49:00	I am planning on booking domestic flights within US in particular from California to Ohio. I suppose doing online booking is cheaper. I dont have any prior experience with online bookings in US. So far i have looked at www.orbitz.com www.priceline.com www.travelocity.com Are these online booking sites quite safe in terms of no misuse by them of credit card details for any other purpose other then paying the airfare. The cheap deals they offer - are they really genuine and stuff. I realise most deals are date restricted/no refunds etc but do they have any other catch Has anyone dealt with these sites and if so, any tips or warnings will be appreciated. Are there any other sites that i am missing on. Its just that i want to make sure everything goes smoothly when i turn up at the airport on the day and no nasty surprises as we plan on booking on same day flight from Auck-La-Ohio(Dayton). Just another question - as flight delays are quite common and say if the Auck -LA flight gets delayed due to airline fault and we miss the connecting due to this - seeing the cheap deals are date/time restricted and there will most probably be increase in airfares for a different flight, will the Auck-LA airline pay for the extra cost or do we have to fork out extra cash? Cheers for any help	vodafone (9466)
446551	2006-04-15 21:41:00	From what I've read don't use Orbitz. Apparently their system isn't that smart and makes all sorts of problems, and it's almost impossible to get them to fix it or get a refund. I was doing some reasearch for a trip to the US and there are a lot of forum articles describing the problems with Orbitz.	joshjnz (7844)
446552	2006-04-15 21:47:00	Generally here in New Zealand we only have one choice for online bookings - Air New Zealand's online system. I would suggest you ask your question on a forum in the US, so that you are more likely to get people who have had a lot of experience with these firms.	somebody (208)
446553	2006-04-15 22:05:00	I would suggest you ask your question on a forum in the US, so that you are more likely to get people who have had a lot of experience with these firms. That is what I would suggest as well. Just another question - as flight delays are quite common and say if the Auck -LA flight gets delayed due to airline fault and we miss the connecting due to this - seeing the cheap deals are date/time restricted and there will most probably be increase in airfares for a different flight, will the Auck-LA airline pay for the extra cost or do we have to fork out extra cash? It will come out of your own pocket unless you have taken out insurance to cover this kind of thing.	FoxyMX (5)
446554	2006-04-15 22:07:00	I think its best to sign up for Lonely Planet forum and go to the North American branch and ask questions, pple there will be v familiar doing those stuff. And most likely many of them would be american residents. For NZ in my exp, all we got is Qantas or AirNZ. You do get the odd website of a travel agent online booking but they are crazy, I am talking about a $3k or $4k return flight to EU and back to NZ. Not sure if they have paid much attention with it. I think if you are leaving NZ shore talk to your travel agent and compare the prices. But if you are getting your points redemned and just want to buy a California to Ohio ticket within the States, it can be really pricey becos you are not leaving NZ shores. Last time I used my points to Japan for free, and I enquired a ticket from Japan to Hong Kong the (one way) it was like almost $2000NZ. My free ticket would of got me from NZ to Tokyo and then from HKG to NZ, at the end I didn't do that and just went to JP. While we are on a similar topic. For asian tickets its about $1800 return at high season and low season is around $1200. What is this for a ticket to Europe? Is the high season typically $2500/2600 and a low season is $1800? I have been advised high season is from May - Aug and the other is low season. For the question re: delayed of flights there should be no surcharges becos you have a valid ticket to begin with. Not sure how they will alloc seats for you thou, do not expect you will get the next flight out esp, when there are other customers who have delayed flights as well. Regards.	Nomad (952)
446555	2006-04-15 22:27:00	Regarding insurance, read the fineprint becos some do you allow provision til x amount of hours passed or they say within x amount of hours insurance co will only provide any top up needed after the airline has reimbursed you (with a replacement flight) . From what I have read, if it is non urgent you will not qualify for urgent replacement of flights . If you are like business meeting, wedding, etc etc . . they can make provision . I would think thou, if your flights is buggered up, you may need to wait in LA for the next flight . . which the airline may or may not provide you a hotel night for that duration, check your insurance policy as well .	Nomad (952)
446556	2006-04-15 22:52:00	Just go direct to the web site of some of the major airlines such as United American or Delta. You can't go wrong by making a booking direct with them. Have a look at the prices on the date you want to travel and look for any specials as well. http://www.aa.com http://www.united.com http://www.delta.com	Safari (3993)
446557	2006-04-15 23:03:00	My missus booked four internal flights in America when she went late last year with American Airlines (http://www.aa.com/), and all went completely smoothly.	Greg (193)
446558	2006-04-16 02:26:00	Thanks everyone, I did some posting elsewhere as well and some have suggested using www.expedia.com and trying airline website like Safari had suggested. I went to American Airlines but struck a notice when purchasing online from their site as it had a cheaper price then Expedia/travelocity offered. The notice said: Note: If you are not a resident of the U.S., Canada, U.K., or select countries in Latin America or the Caribbean, tickets cannot be purchased online but may be placed on hold for purchase at an AA airport or ticket office. It says that i can hold tickets and pay at counter which i dont want to risk etc especially when i havent paid for it. And even when i attempted to go thru to purchase stage using my Visa it didnt give me any option to Select NZ as country/address. Greg how did your Mrs manage to purchase it online from AA site? Is she a US resident? Cheers for all the info .	vodafone (9466)
446559	2006-04-16 04:17:00	Greg how did your Mrs manage to purchase it online from AA site? Is she a US resident? Ah good point. Her dad's a US citizen and he did the actual bookings from over there.	Greg (193)
1 2