FYI Orbitz

[BillVT]

Booked our March trip last week with Orbitz. We had been watching flight prices on Kayak and our bank account. Prices went up some and stayed there for awhile. We got nervous with all the high fuel prices and pulled the trigger. We used Orbitz because of the price assurance.

A few days later we get a notice that the airline has changed 1 leg of our trip's flight number. No big deal. We check and it is the same type plane and our seat reservations were the same. No problems. Then we get an alert from Kayak that prices have dropped about $50 a person. We check with Orbitz to see if price assurance has kicked in. Nope. Since the flight numbers didn't match our original reservation we don't get flight assurance.

Hmm. Wasn't that flight number change convenient? Just sayin'.

[Coden]

Very convenient...bummer! But better luck between now and March.

[California Girl]

I check all the websites for price commparisons and then book directly with the airlines just because of crap like that. I've heard so many horror stories on this forum about people getting screwed by Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc. because they are booking through a second party and any "fixes" have to be done through them and aren't usually successful...at least not without an extreme amount of hassle! I hope you can get this fixed, it really sucks.

[PA Girl]

We check with Orbitz to see if price assurance has kicked in. Nope. Since the flight numbers didn't match our original reservation we don't get flight assurance.

that is too bad, a mere change in flight numbers as the reason is pretty crappy.

A while back, I was checking out the price assurance thing and I remember reading something about it was valid only when someone books the exact flight at a lower price. Factor in connections and the chances are even lower that one would get a refund for the difference. I didn't like those odds.

Airlines have worn me down. I watched flights for our Feb 2012 trip and last week decided, f_ck it and just decided to get the flights we wanted and be done with it.

[pmk]

One problem with Orbitz price assurance is that it's not enough for your flights to go below what you paid for them. Some other traveler needs to actually purchase tickets from Orbitz for your same flights and use them. The chances of this seem quite small to me.

Basically, I think it's a scam.

pmk

[PA Girl]

One problem with Orbitz price assurance is that it's not enough for your flights to go below what you paid for them. Some other traveler needs to actually purchase tickets from Orbitz for your same flights and use them. The chances of this seem quite small to me.

Basically, I think it's a scam.

pmk

That is how I read it too.

For example, our Feburary flight is two legs, the first has 86 seats, the second has 193.

Right off the bat, some of those 86 seats are going to go to frequent fliers. Since we are flying through a hub, no doubt quite a few of remaining seats will bought by business travellers who will pay top dollar. Add families like ours that buy 4, 5 or 6 seats at a time.

Of the remaining seats, what is the chance that two seperate travellers will both buy tickets on these two exact flights from Orbitz? We are talking about a handful of seats against the millions of people that shop on Orbitz.

It wouldn't take long to essentially make any Orbitz price assurance next to an impossible event simply because all the seats are sold on the first leg (or any part)or are no longer offered thru the Orbitz site.

[Dclapp]

I too thought this was a scam but i did get a refund for a trip from newark to Salt lake last year. It did work in that situation. Someone booked a flight at the lower rate and I received a check for around $65 dollars about 6 weeks later.

It can work but orbitz can play games as well.

Dave

[Xislandgirl]

I have never received a refund but I have used Orbitz quite a bit and have nothing but good things to say.
They notify us when there is any little change to the flight, while many airlines never do, you have to check on your own.
That is why I hate booking direct. They never notify you when they change the flight time.

I would love to get a refund but I figure that once I pick a price that I am comfortable paying, if the price goes down it usually is not all that much and it usually goes up, so I am happy.