Travel sites vs direct for airlines

[bsblindab]

Has anyone used a travel site for better flight cost vs direct from the airlines? And how far in advance do you see a good price..closer or further out?

[Ashland]

As far as purchasing..I feels it's best to never have a 3rd party (middleman) involved.

[FlyerTalker]

If price is your only concern, then there are a number of parties that may sell air tickets for less than what you would get from an airline directly.

 

However, note that they are often NOT the same tickets, with the same underlying fare rules, as you would get directly.

 

Since you don't say anything about cities, dates or other details, the answer is a definite maybe. To anything.

[6rugrats]

I see you are on POA. Are you asking about flights to Hawaii?

[fbgd]

Has anyone used a travel site for better flight cost vs direct from the airlines? And how far in advance do you see a good price..closer or further out?

 

Err, it depends.

 

Really, you're asking the "how long is a piece of string" question.

[waterbug123]

Has anyone used a travel site for better flight cost vs direct from the airlines? And how far in advance do you see a good price..closer or further out?

 

I think I've used Expedia exactly once in my life, when price was literally the only factor in booking the particular flights in question. As price was the only factor being considered, I also drove (un)willingly 3 hours to another airport to begin the trip, when my home airport was a mere 20 min from my house.

 

I'm a far more experienced traveler now and don't care to put a 3rd party in between me and my flights. If there's a problem and someone wants to start pointing fingers, I don't want them pointing at an absent 3rd party who isn't there physically to do anything about it. I'd rather it be between me and the airline. Just my .02

[Zach1213]

I think I've used Expedia exactly once in my life, when price was literally the only factor in booking the particular flights in question. As price was the only factor being considered, I also drove (un)willingly 3 hours to another airport to begin the trip, when my home airport was a mere 20 min from my house.

 

I'm a far more experienced traveler now and don't care to put a 3rd party in between me and my flights. If there's a problem and someone wants to start pointing fingers, I don't want them pointing at an absent 3rd party who isn't there physically to do anything about it. I'd rather it be between me and the airline. Just my .02

 

I have used Expedia sometimes, for both flights and hotels, without problems. But they are not a discounter...they offer "regular" tickets and are trustworthy. That being said, I still go directly to the airline 99% of the time.

 

Recently I wanted to book a ticket MCI-ORD-LHR-ZRH/AMS-LHR-DFW-MCI on BA, but BA.com was (and still is) having issues when you say you want to book flights from MCI. I alerted them and gave them plenty of time to fix it, but they didn't, so I went to Expedia to book said flight. But, as I said, it's a "regular" business class ticket, nothing like a consolidator ticket which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.