Bad Orbitz?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 156
Bad Orbitz?
I often rely on Orbitz to price out trips, in fact I used the software that powers Orbitz for quite a while before Orbitz came online. I’ve just noticed something recently with my results, and I’m wondering if anyone else has the same thing happening.
I live in the Bay Area, so I don’t really care whether I leave from SFO, SJC, or OAK as long as it’s United ;-) So with my Orbitz searches, I often use SFO as the departure city but select “and airports within 100 miles” thinking that will produce the optimum cheapest results. The other day, I think to myself, why not just try SJC for a change, and what do you know, the results spit out $100 cheaper for the same days and same destination. No matter what I do, when I enter SFO as the departure city, I can’t get those other cities and better prices to come up. I wonder if 1) the system has so many SFO options that it just can’t process the other cities 2) it doesn’t actually know that SJC or OAK are located within 100 miles of SFO.
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? I can give my exact search if anyone would like to see my results.
I live in the Bay Area, so I don’t really care whether I leave from SFO, SJC, or OAK as long as it’s United ;-) So with my Orbitz searches, I often use SFO as the departure city but select “and airports within 100 miles” thinking that will produce the optimum cheapest results. The other day, I think to myself, why not just try SJC for a change, and what do you know, the results spit out $100 cheaper for the same days and same destination. No matter what I do, when I enter SFO as the departure city, I can’t get those other cities and better prices to come up. I wonder if 1) the system has so many SFO options that it just can’t process the other cities 2) it doesn’t actually know that SJC or OAK are located within 100 miles of SFO.
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? I can give my exact search if anyone would like to see my results.
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,039
I've encoutered that same problem before as well, and have also noticed that NARROWING my searches (e.g. limiting to one airline), rather than broadening them as Orbitz suggests, often results in lower fares.
#3
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,617
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by phatteus:
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? .</font>
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? .</font>
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: new york, ny, usa
Posts: 13,536
phatteus: yes. i used to use "NYC" but now i use "nyc," "lga," "ewr," and "jfk" (those airport codes stand for New York City airports, LaGuardia Airport, Newark International Airport, and John F. Kennedy (a.k.a., Kennedy) International Airport, respectively) and many times i get cheaper results by typing in the airport codes individually.
the problem with using individual airport codes is that sometimes you can get a better fare if you fly into one airport and return to another, which would be fine with me. you would assume that orbitz would try every possible iteration (and i am certainly not going to do that).
isn't that what the $5 is for?
[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 02-19-2002).]
[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 02-19-2002).]
the problem with using individual airport codes is that sometimes you can get a better fare if you fly into one airport and return to another, which would be fine with me. you would assume that orbitz would try every possible iteration (and i am certainly not going to do that).
isn't that what the $5 is for?
[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 02-19-2002).]
[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 02-19-2002).]
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by phatteus:
I often rely on Orbitz to price out trips, in fact I used the software that powers Orbitz for quite a while before Orbitz came online. I’ve just noticed something recently with my results, and I’m wondering if anyone else has the same thing happening.
I live in the Bay Area, so I don’t really care whether I leave from SFO, SJC, or OAK as long as it’s United ;-) So with my Orbitz searches, I often use SFO as the departure city but select “and airports within 100 miles” thinking that will produce the optimum cheapest results. The other day, I think to myself, why not just try SJC for a change, and what do you know, the results spit out $100 cheaper for the same days and same destination. No matter what I do, when I enter SFO as the departure city, I can’t get those other cities and better prices to come up. I wonder if 1) the system has so many SFO options that it just can’t process the other cities 2) it doesn’t actually know that SJC or OAK are located within 100 miles of SFO.
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? I can give my exact search if anyone would like to see my results.</font>
I often rely on Orbitz to price out trips, in fact I used the software that powers Orbitz for quite a while before Orbitz came online. I’ve just noticed something recently with my results, and I’m wondering if anyone else has the same thing happening.
I live in the Bay Area, so I don’t really care whether I leave from SFO, SJC, or OAK as long as it’s United ;-) So with my Orbitz searches, I often use SFO as the departure city but select “and airports within 100 miles” thinking that will produce the optimum cheapest results. The other day, I think to myself, why not just try SJC for a change, and what do you know, the results spit out $100 cheaper for the same days and same destination. No matter what I do, when I enter SFO as the departure city, I can’t get those other cities and better prices to come up. I wonder if 1) the system has so many SFO options that it just can’t process the other cities 2) it doesn’t actually know that SJC or OAK are located within 100 miles of SFO.
Has anyone else seen this? Does it happen to other places outside SFO? I can give my exact search if anyone would like to see my results.</font>
When pricing domestic flights, I cross check to see if Orbitz is picking up all listed prices/schedules, so that is why I go back and check with ITA. Of course, they won't have any web specials that Orbitz has, but I have never bought from Orbitz prefering to get the bonus FF miles from buying directly on-line from the airline.
However, ITA has many more features than Orbitz, day before/after departures and returns, as well as destination radius of up to 300 miles.
Lesson -- Never just rely on one search engine, for they are only as good as the humans who programmed them or provided them with data!
#6
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Texas AA EXP 4.5 mm, United Gold, Marriott Plt, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 962
I have started cross checking Orbitz more because I found that if you select only one airline the fare is often cheaper...... such as AA in my case than the cheapest option it had otherwise. Often these are web specials which I am not sure if this is the reason of not, but its seems to be a bigger problem during the last month.
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AA member since 1981
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AA member since 1981
#7
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: Lifetime: UA Gold, AA Gold, & Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,352
You might try using an airport without commercial service and see if that works for you (don't know the airports in the area well enough to suggest one, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the code for a general aviation airport).
For instance, I use TTN (Trenton, NJ) along with airports within 50 miles to pick up EWR, PHL, and ABE without getting LGA and JFK).
For instance, I use TTN (Trenton, NJ) along with airports within 50 miles to pick up EWR, PHL, and ABE without getting LGA and JFK).
#8
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: BW Diamond, Choice Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 3,120
My experience with Orbitz hasn't been good enough to make me want to leave my travel agent. I find that when I put in CAK and airports within 50 miles (CLE), that Orbitz frequently has me returning the different airport. If I'm departing from CLE, it has me returning to CAK, and vice versa. Not very useful, since I have to drive myself to the airport!
#9
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Madison NJ; Watopia
Posts: 3,161
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fly co to see the yanks:
phatteus: yes. i used to use "NYC" but now i use "nyc," "lga," "ewr," and "jfk" (those airport codes stand for New York City airports, LaGuardia Airport, Newark International Airport, and John F. Kennedy (a.k.a., Kennedy) International Airport, respectively) and many times i get cheaper results by typing in the airport codes individually.
</font>
phatteus: yes. i used to use "NYC" but now i use "nyc," "lga," "ewr," and "jfk" (those airport codes stand for New York City airports, LaGuardia Airport, Newark International Airport, and John F. Kennedy (a.k.a., Kennedy) International Airport, respectively) and many times i get cheaper results by typing in the airport codes individually.
</font>
#10
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Phila Delta ex-PM, ex-UA-PE
Posts: 2,659
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by duxfan:
My experience with Orbitz hasn't been good enough to make me want to leave my travel agent. I find that when I put in CAK and airports within 50 miles (CLE), that Orbitz frequently has me returning the different airport. If I'm departing from CLE, it has me returning to CAK, and vice versa. Not very useful, since I have to drive myself to the airport!</font>
My experience with Orbitz hasn't been good enough to make me want to leave my travel agent. I find that when I put in CAK and airports within 50 miles (CLE), that Orbitz frequently has me returning the different airport. If I'm departing from CLE, it has me returning to CAK, and vice versa. Not very useful, since I have to drive myself to the airport!</font>
Having flights that for example depart from LGA but return to JFK are often useless. For those that either take transportation, or get dropped off/picked up, maybe it's not that difficult to use 2 different airports. But like the original poster if you drive yourself to the airport you are out of luck.
Jeff