I have bought three airline tickets via hotwire for my buddy and his girlfriend. They wanted the tickets during peak travel season, so we were able to get the best possible price at the time of booking.

However, 2 out of the 3 tickets yielded really crazy hours of travel. Only one of the three yielded the time that we wanted.

The advantage of course is that you don't have to lock into a bid like you do on priceline. You get to see how much you are paying.

Disadvantages:

1. You don't know the airlines or the times that you are flying.
2. You don't earn frequent flier miles
3. The prices quoted for the dates you want may not be the absolute lowest.