Air Travel Tips

Learning to Book Online

By Jens Jurgen

The travel booking business just changed. Delta announced that it would no longer pay commissions to most travel agents, and other carriers matched this "assault" on travel agents-their partners for 50-plus years. Since travel agents can't work for free, they will have to increase their service fees, adding costs for many travelers.

Unfortunately, individual travelers can't expect to get impartial advice when they call a particular airline. An airline reservation agent is not going to tell you that another airline has a better schedule or a better fare for your particular itinerary or that they are threatening to strike when you want to fly.

This being true, this recent "no travel agent commissions" rule means that sooner or later every traveler, or at least someone in each family, must become computer and Web savvy to be able to book air tickets, hotels, and car rentals themselves on the Web. Families traveling with kids must learn how to book flights at off-peak times and from less busy airports. I expect terribly long lines at peak times at major airports this summer. So plan ahead.

Unfortunately, there is no single web site that is best. Some are cumbersome to use or have bugs; it is easy to make mistakes or pay too much. Just trying to avoid risky flight connections takes a lot of knowledge and time.

One advantage of Orbitz.com, a web site jointly owned by major U.S. airlines, is that it is easy to use and shows only the fares for which actual booking is available at the moment. But Orbitz does not include all the lower fares, such as those from Southwest Airlines or most consolidators

Some online travel booking sites sometimes charge small fees to issue airline tickets. With the airlines cutting their commissions, such fees may increase. Even orbitz.com recently added a $5 service charge.

Priceline has a $5.95 booking charge, but this fee is neglible when compared to the huge savings you can obtain, especially on hotels and car rentals for several days or nights. Priceline.com also charges a ticket delivery fee for paper tickets, which are still used by some international airlines. There is no fee for e-tickets, which are now used almost everywhere.

JENS JURGEN is the editor of TravelCompanions.com. Excerpted from the March/April 2002 issue of TravelCompanions.com.