The Best Travel Site I've Found
Written: Oct 29 '01
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The Bottom Line
This was the best site I found for airline tickets, more carriers and lower fares.
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I needed airline tickets. My online shopping experiences to date have been limited, but I have perused the travel sites occasionally over the past year.
After hearing about Orbitz.com on a television ad, I checked the website out. On June 5th, I registered with Orbitz with the intent to continue checking their offers against those of other travel websites. I immediately received an email thanking me for registering.
For two weeks, I continued checking several sites for fares. On June 18th, I purchased round-trip tickets on EVA Air for four people from Orbitz.com. I had found one fare cheaper on North West Airlines at Lowestfare.com, but the itinerary put us in Bangkok at almost midnight. And I had traveled on NWA several times, courtesy of the government, and was interested in trying a different airline. No other website I tried listed the EVA fares in their search results.
I received a confirmation email the same day I purchased the tickets. This email stated that Orbitz.com was preparing the details of my trip and would email them to me within 24 hours. I received my tickets the next day via FedEx, but that second email never arrived.
On June 20th, I emailed customer service requesting the status of my reservations. That same day, I received an email confirming the receipt of my email. It assured me that they were there 24 hours a day to help, and that a Customer Service Representative would email an answer to me as quickly as possible.
After a couple of days of no response, I called the 800 number. Before being placed on hold, I was informed that Orbitz was adding more people to their Customer Service staff due to the overwhelming response to their outstanding fares. After being on hold for approximately 5 minutes, I realized I had things to do and hung up.
On July 6th, I received a response to my June 20th inquiry. Orbitz apologized for the delay, again noting the extraordinary number of inquiries to the Customer Service Department. I was informed that my itinerary was exactly as it appeared in "My Stuff" on the Orbitz website.
I had seen the itinerary in "My Stuff". I guess I was just thrown by the first email, confirming my purchase. I had been told I would receive another email within 24 hours, and that email never showed up. Then I had emailed an inquiry, further bogging down an already overwhelmed Customer Service Department. But, after authorizing almost $2500 to be charged to my credit card, I believe I am justified in being a little nervous when everything doesn't happen as I'm told.
I bought these tickets when Orbitz was in it's infancy. Hopefully, these very minor concerns have been corrected by now. Otherwise, the website was great. I got the best fare, I received my tickets quickly, and reservations were made and confirmed.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Chuck Van Wormer
Location: Shelton, Washingtion
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 5 members
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