Travelocity.com: An Easy Flight Reservation System
Written: Oct 02 '01 (Updated May 16 '05)
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The Bottom Line
Travelocity is a good flight reservation service, with an easy to use interface and helpful customer service.
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Travelocity.com is one of the more popular travel web services in cyberspace, offering a full range of travel assistance and reservation- making features. You can reserve a hotel, rent a car, book a flight, plan a cruise, and/or check on special vacation package deals.
Flight reservations are the most popular feature that Travelocity.com offers. This Epinion will focus on the how to’s, along with the pros and cons of using Travelocity.com flight reservations.
How Does it Work?:
From the home page, you begin your flight search by entering your departure and arrival cities, the number of passengers, and the desired dates of arrival and departure. If you want to, you can go directly to the advanced search function. With the advanced search, you can select more detail, such as whether or not you want a one- way ticket or round trip; whether or not you would like Travelocity.com to search for better fares at nearby airports; what class of flight to search on (economy, business, or first class); airline preferences; etc.
On the search results page, you will see a listing of as many as nine airline fares that match your criteria, with the least expensive listed first. Each flight option shows the airline, the times of departure, and the type of aircraft. If you like, you can make some quick modifications to your search, on the left side of the results page, and then search again. You can quickly change your dates and times, define the maximum number of connections that are acceptable, and also define how many hours you are willing to deviate from your preferred times of arrival and departure.
If you like some of the flight itineraries, but want to search more, you can click an icon to save the search, and/or to hold the reservation. If you want to hold the flight, for a possible reservation, Travelocity.com will place a 24 hour hold on the flight, unless the particular airline doesn’t accept holds for your selected flight. Also, you can just choose to save the flight, and come back to it later on after you have conducted more searches.
Whether you want to save, hold, or make a purchase, you will be required to sign up as a Travelocity.com member. This requires that you input your basic data about yourself, like your name and address, e-mail, and a few other pieces of individual data. You will also have to select a user id and password, for future logon efforts. When you sign up, Travelocity.com will also ask you if you would like to receive it’s e-mail newsletter, showing special fares and discounted travel bargains throughout the year.
If you would like to bargain for a better deal, Travelocity.com has a link, at the bottom of the search results page, that will take you into Priceline.com, so that you can gamble for a better deal.
Other Flight Services:
Travelocity.com has an area on its home page with flight tips, to make your trip easier. You can lookup data on how to find low fares, how to place a flight on hold, and information on “Express Buy” services. You can also lookup arrival and departure information on your purchased flights, showing you the gate, terminal, and baggage claim information. And, if the flight your checking on is currently in the air, Travelocity.com will display the flight on a map, showing the speed, altitude, and the flight path so that you can visibly see where the flight is at that moment.
Customer Service:
If you’re having trouble with the web site, or if you have some general questions, you can quickly find the answers to most problems on the customer service and support page, within the web site. All you need to do is select a topic area, and then look for your question on the listings of FAQ. Topics include things like reservations and credit cards, destination guides, ticketing and delivery, travel resources, etc.
If you can’t find what you want, or if you prefer to speak directly to a service rep, Travelocity.com has toll- free lines to call, 24 hours a day, seven days per week, to assist you with all your travel needs.
Final Thoughts:
Travelocity.com offers a good, user- friendly flight search system. I like the way that it allows you to quickly change the times of arrival/departure on the search results page, and then search again. One thing it doesn’t let you do, from this page, is change your airport. It would be more complete if they would add that as an option. The way it works now, you have to either press back on your browser, and enter a new airport code, or press the icon for a new flight search.
This flight search is a little slower than other ones that I have used. Depending on your connection speed, you might have to exercise some patience while you wait for Travelocity.com to display the search results. For myself, it takes about 20 seconds to display, although it seems much longer than that.
One other thing that I don’t like is the fact that the search results only list up to nine options. There could be more, that closely fit your criteria, but it will only list up to nine. There’s no option to flip to the next page. You will need to conduct a new search, with slightly different criteria, in order to see more options.
Having to setup an account, to save/hold a flight or make a purchase is a hassle, but it’s easy to do. I prefer the travel sites that don’t require that you join, but if the site can find me a great deal, then I’m willing to overlook this requirement.
The prices quoted in Travelocity.com are fairly competitive for domestic flights, but not so great for international flights, based on my experience. I have found better deals using other flight services. Keep in mind that Travelocity will also increase the price of your tickets, if you need express delivery. Other travel web services carry similar charges, so this isn't surprising.
Overall, this is a decent flight reservation service. There are a few things that would improve its usability, like allowing the airport code to quickly be changed without having to go back and run a new search; and having the ability to look at more than nine flight options at a time. But no flight reservation service is perfect.
To summarize, Travelocity.com does have a few flaws, but it’s a good service overall with an easy to use interface and some nice additional features that you don’t find elsewhere (like the flight tracking feature, that shows the current status of a flight that’s still in the air). It’s a good service, and I recommend giving it a try.
Be Sure to Click on the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Popular Travel Web Sites:
American Express Travel
Cheapairlines.com
Travelnow.com
Cheaptravel.com
Hotel Discount.com
Bestfares.com
Hotwire.com
America’s Vacation Center
Expedia.com Flights
Expedia.com Hotels
Expedia.com Cruises
Travelocity.com Hotels
Priceline.com Flights
Priceline.com Hotels
Vacations To Go
Vacationspot.com
Flycheap.com
LowestFare.com
Mytravelco.com
Placestostay.com
Orbitz.com
Cheaptickets.com
Recommended:
Yes
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