Visit Planet Earth, But, Visit Orbitz First!
Written: Aug 02 '01 (Updated Aug 02 '01)
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The Bottom Line
It was quick and easy to find and compare prices. Fedex delivery of tickets arrived when they were supposed to.
Helpful Toll-free number to call.
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| Full Review |
Well, we finally did it, we bit the bullet and purchased airline tickets on the Internet!
At first I was a bit hesitant, but, when my husband called Delta Airlines to check prices for an upcoming trip we hope to make in September, baring any hurricanes or other acts of nature, it was suggested to him to check Delta.com by a Delta representative after she told him the lowest fares available by phone for the dates and airports we were interested in. The prices are less on the web site she said.
We originally had planned a long weekend on Cape Cod and were going to fly in and out of Boston as we had in the past, though we usually fly American Airlines trying to keep our miles in one account, so to speak, for future trips.
But, plans and habits do change and recently when we ran into two of our oldest and dearest friends and told them our plans, they graciously invited us to spend a few days on Long Island with them at the house they rent on the beach, before we continued on to the Cape.... How could we turn such an invitation down? The beach, good friends and lobster....sounded pretty good to us.....
We will be going to Cape Cod for an intensive whale watch weekend put on by the Whale Adoption Project, an organization I have written about in the past, combined with an intensive lobster eating program of which I plan to put together myself!! One of the highlights of that weekend for me will be meeting one of our very own epinionaters, "Whalewatcher"...With that name, I can't think of anyone who would enjoy such a weekend more. Except for me, that is!
Our friends told us about a Delta Express flight that is very reasonably priced leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale which flies directly to Islip Long Island. The house they rent is less than an hour away from that airport so it's very convenient and besides, Delta doesn't fly direct from Miami to Boston without having to land at least once or change planes. I guess that's another reason we always have used American to go up there.
How would we get to the Cape? I asked, and was told about a very convenient ferry System that travels throughout Long Island Sound. The car ferry would take us to New London Connecticut and then from there it's only a short drive to our final destination. Sounds like fun we thought and decided to do it. We did decide though that we didn't want to go all the way back to Islip for our return flight home and thought it would be a good idea to fly home from Boston instead which is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from our hotel in Hyannis.
OK, so now we had our destinations and sort of an itinerary. Time to make some calls and as I wrote earlier, we called and were told to try online for better pricing.
Now, the reason for this review..... We had heard about Orbitz from TV ads and other promotional advertising. A site owned and operated by many airlines would have the best fares it seemed to us, so that's where we decided to check first.
I must say Orbitz really was easy to navigate. Immediately upon entering the site there is a flight search. We put in the departure and arrival cities, the dates and times we were interested in and voila, within a minute, the prices for the same flights we were asking about over the phone came up at substantial savings.
On the phone we were quoted $507.00 Round-trip for the two of us. On Orbitz the same flights were $410. Now, this seemed a bargain considering we were flying in and out of 2 different airports and states. Sometimes just doing that costs more. We did pay $10 extra for paper tickets only because you have to pay for Fedex delivery. I'm still not comfortable with the idea of e-tickets. I guess you don't really have to have tickets but I'm the type of person that likes to have something in my hand upon approaching the departure gate. Hopefully someday I'll get over that!
While booking your tickets you can request the type of seating you want, window or aisle, I wondered about that because a middle seat wasn't mentioned...More on that later. You can put in your frequent flyer number and even request certain types of meals. That is, if a meal is served, which wouldn't be on this flight. So I guess we will brown bag it and probably be better off.
The next day we had an e-mail with a confirmation of our flights...Reminders will be sent as the trip approaches.
We now have an account with them and when we sign on we go to a page called My Stuff. Our current reservation is listed along with our member information and the preferences we chose.
Our tickets arrived exactly 2 working days later, just when it said they would arrive.
But, there was a little problem, when the tickets arrived I looked them over carefully and noticed the seat assignments were 5 A and B.... Now, I knew the plane, a 737, has a 3 seat configuration on both sides and I know in that event the C seat is usually the aisle. Since we had requested the aisle and window seats, I figured something was amiss. We had been assigned a window and a middle seat!! Luckily for us and extra bonus points for Orbitz, there is a toll-free number to call at any time, which is what I did immediately.... The representative I spoke to couldn't have been more accommodating and called Delta to see what the scoop was while I waited on the phone. She came back to tell me I was right, what did I want to do? So, I gambled, asked for the window and aisle and hoped the middle would not be assigned to anyone. In that case, if we are lucky, we'll be able to spread out a little, if not, one of us will have to switch. But, unless it's a full flight, that shouldn't happen......I hope!
Orbitz is really an easy site to navigate and there are many travel options available. You can book car rentals, hotels, cruises, and complete vacation packages. On the home page there are Today's special flight fares, Last minute getaways and, Package deals, all ready for browsing, just a click away.. I do want to say, we got a better deal on the phone for our car rental with Hertz then was available when we looked on the site. And, Avis was twice the price for a weekly rate, the same type, mid-sized car..You really just have to shop around it seems for car rentals. The prices change daily we were told.
Today, just for fun, I logged on and put in a few dates using American Airlines, my favorite flights 62 and 63, round-trip, Miami to Paris...I used a few dates in November, knowing that is not a heavily traveled time and came up with a great fare, much lower than I had recently seen advertised in the newspaper. Those of you that know me or have read my reviews know how hard it was for me NOT to click on the purchase button!
You do have to read their facts page before purchasing anything, which informs you of the rules, requirements, and no cancellation policies, but that applies to all airlines and low fare pricing.
Anyway, my limited experience with Orbitz leads me to believe it was a positive one and I would recommend this service, only with a little warning to check everything twice before booking. Maybe next time I'd even go for e-tickets, and save the Fedex fee.... except, if I had, I don't know if I would have been able to spot the seating mistake..... So that part of it is still a bit iffy...
Happy and Safe Travels.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Barbara Fields
Location: Miami, Fl
Reviews written: 799
Trusted by: 802 members
About Me: Going through some heavy duty health issues now. Sorry I won't be around much.
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