expedia: disadvantages??

Old May 19, 2012, 6:19 am
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expedia: disadvantages??

I have found a BOS-IST trip in BE on both Expedia and Orbitz priced ca. $800 less than on the Delta website. I checked with a Delta agent by telephone, but she could not bring up the lower price. My question: is there any downside to buying the ticket through Expedia (or Orbitz)?

Thanks for your help.
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Old May 19, 2012, 6:28 am
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I usually check expedia before buying on DL -- to add the expedia rewards points to my purchase. So long as I've got my SM number in the expedia account, I've never had a problem with buying through expedia. The res shows up in my delta "my trips", the upgrade is requested and from my view there seems to be no difference in the availability of upgrades, and I can log into my delta account and request the elite seats that I want. The downside I think is that you won't have the 24 hour cancel with full refund option. If you want to use an ECV, of course you can't with expedia.
Also worth noting -- when renting a car from National, I can enter my emerald aisle number through expedia and get the same rates that I get direct from National. But expedia has its own "full coverage" insurance -- for a multi-day rental, it is generally about the same as each days "full coverage" from National (and I only purchase full coverage when renting for work because my employer wants us to). Again, the reservation shows up in my National emerald account.
tom
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Old May 19, 2012, 8:01 am
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Note that Delta charges an additional $50 to change a ticket issued by an online travel agency. So, changes will be your $250 intl change fee + $50 external fee = $300 change fee. Obviously, this will be more than offset by the $800 savings in this case. However, I don't generally consider booking with Expedia to save less than $50 because of the frequency with which I have to re-book.
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Old May 19, 2012, 8:24 am
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Another question: in the case of flight disruptions such as a missed connection, does having purchased the ticket on Expedia cause any problems?
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Old May 19, 2012, 8:40 am
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Single airline? Multiple airlines? Connection times legal? Call airlines or Expedia for issue resolutions? 3rd party sites often have creative routing that otherwise are not available via the airline web site. Status with the associated airlines would be beneficial.

Or in other words, if all goes as planned no problem; if all does not go as planned...
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Old May 19, 2012, 9:11 am
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BOS-JFK: Delta
JFK-IST: Delta
IST-CDG: AF
CDG-BOS: DL codeshare with AF

I have seen the same flights on the DL website, but the cost is much higher than the prices on Expedia, Orbitz, and Vayama (all of which range within a few dollars of each other and are ca. $800 less expensive than Delta).

How does it happen that at least three third-party sites are showing the lower price, but a DL agent can't see the lower fare?
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Old May 19, 2012, 9:30 am
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Originally Posted by annbs
BOS-JFK: Delta
JFK-IST: Delta
IST-CDG: AF
CDG-BOS: DL codeshare with AF

How does it happen that at least three third-party sites are showing the lower price, but a DL agent can't see the lower fare?
Are these carrier-operated & carried-coded flights, or are there code shares? What's the booking class of each segment vs. the Delta-offered itinerary?

There are some subtleties that arise from these questions. For one, are you familiar with U.S. DOT rules for multi-carrier baggage allowance according to most significant marketing carrier?
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Old May 19, 2012, 9:39 am
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BOS-IST flights are DL flights operated by DL
IST=CDG is an AF flight, operated by AF
CDG-BOS is operated by AF, but can either be booked as an AF flight or a DL codeshare. Price is the same.

All segments are in Business class, but on the DL website and also speaking with an agent, the return fares are in a higher class than the outgoing fares. Neither I nor the agent can pull up the less expensive fare class.
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Old May 19, 2012, 9:40 am
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Basically the biggest issue is if you run into certain problems (such as carrier schedule changes) you might have to deal with Expedia instead of DL. You could get finger pointing. But it's no more or less than someone who has to use a corporate TA to book.

If you're flying multiple carriers on the PNR you might want to see if you can have Expedia issue paper tickets/coupons. That may give you more flexibility at the airport in the case of IROPs.
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Old May 19, 2012, 9:47 am
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Originally Posted by annbs

How does it happen that at least three third-party sites are showing the lower price, but a DL agent can't see the lower fare?
Because they are consolidated fares - negotiated fares if you will. Read the fare rules VERY carefully as some such fares are HIGHLY restrictive - IE 'Use it or lose it' and allow positively NO changes, even if you miss a flight.
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Old May 19, 2012, 10:36 am
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Originally Posted by annbs
I have found a BOS-IST trip in BE on both Expedia and Orbitz priced ca. $800 less than on the Delta website. I checked with a Delta agent by telephone, but she could not bring up the lower price. My question: is there any downside to buying the ticket through Expedia (or Orbitz)?

Thanks for your help.
I've had this experience before several times and have had no issue with purchasing off of expedia. I even purchased a ticket just yesterday through Expedia that I couldn't price out on Delta. And it was pretty much the same thing as your situation, BE and a mix of DL & KL metal, but all on KL flight numbers. Interestingly it was ticketed as on DL 006 ticket stock. I was able to immediately see my itinerary at delta.com and choose my seats, etc.

I doubt that your ticket is a consolidator fare, but you never know. If you price out the same itin on different booking engines, you will often get different prices. Your situation is far from unheard of.

If you want, you could look up your fare on ExpertFlyer (get a trial version if you don't have it already) and see if the fare is listed there.

The biggest downside is not having the 24-hour risk-free cancellation on expedia. If the prices were the same, then definitely use dl.com. But to save $800, I certainly would book via expedia.
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Old May 19, 2012, 10:54 am
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I've found that during IRROPS, you can deal directly with the airline when tickets are purchased through a 3rd party site. However if you miss a flight or need to make changes, you might need to call Expedia and deal with them instead of directly with DL. Expedia will charge a change fee and DL will charge another change fee.

Overall I think it relatively safe to book airfare through these third party sites. But the fact that the fare is so much lower throws up red flags. Read the fare rules very carefully to understand your risks and rights.
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Old May 19, 2012, 11:56 am
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Originally Posted by mot29
...The downside I think is that you won't have the 24 hour cancel with full refund option.
This is categorically incorrect. Expedia offers the ability to void a ticket within 24 hours. (Actually, until midnight the next day.) You can even do it on the Expedia website without picking up the phone. I did this just yesterday myself, sadly giving up one of the cheap LHR Busines Class fares.


Originally Posted by mot29
...If you want to use an ECV, of course you can't with expedia.
This is correct.


Originally Posted by Ascii
Note that Delta charges an additional $50 to change a ticket issued by an online travel agency. So, changes will be your $250 intl change fee + $50 external fee = $300 change fee. Obviously, this will be more than offset by the $800 savings in this case. However, I don't generally consider booking with Expedia to save less than $50 because of the frequency with which I have to re-book.
This is misleading. You can instead contact Expedia directly to process the changes that you would like, and then you only face the same change fee you would incur with Delta if you had booked directly.


Originally Posted by annbs
Another question: in the case of flight disruptions such as a missed connection, does having purchased the ticket on Expedia cause any problems?
No, not in my experience.


Originally Posted by view-with-a-room
Single airline? Multiple airlines? Connection times legal? Call airlines or Expedia for issue resolutions? 3rd party sites often have creative routing that otherwise are not available via the airline web site. Status with the associated airlines would be beneficial.

Or in other words, if all goes as planned no problem; if all does not go as planned...
Actually, I have seen a situation where booking through Expedia was highly advantageous vs. booking airline direct. I bought a VS plated ticket BOS-LHR-TXL, and they had a schedule change that completely screwed up the itinerary. VS would only offer a totally absurd reroute that was incredibly unreasonable. I lobbied and lobbied for something more sensible. VS wouldn't budge. Expedia lobbied and lobbied on my behalf. VS wouldn't budge. The ultimate resolution: Expedia booked me on a reasonable new itinerary and ate the incremental expense on my behalf! Had I booked directly with VS, I would have had no recourse except for the legal route. (Incidentally, I once did have to initiate a small-claims action against VS to get resolution to an issue.)


Originally Posted by NWA/Deltaflygirl
Because they are consolidated fares - negotiated fares if you will. Read the fare rules VERY carefully as some such fares are HIGHLY restrictive - IE 'Use it or lose it' and allow positively NO changes, even if you miss a flight.
Definitely not consolidator fares. Expedia sells published fares, with some exceptions when you get into packages.


Originally Posted by 18sas
The biggest downside is not having the 24-hour risk-free cancellation on expedia.
As noted above, this is categorically incorrect.


Originally Posted by roknroll
I've found that during IRROPS, you can deal directly with the airline when tickets are purchased through a 3rd party site.
My experience is the same.


Originally Posted by roknroll
However if you miss a flight or need to make changes, you might need to call Expedia and deal with them instead of directly with DL. Expedia will charge a change fee and DL will charge another change fee.
Yes, you'd generally need to deal with Expedia in this case. However, as noted above, Expedia charges no additional fare beyond what is collected on behalf of the airline.
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Old May 19, 2012, 11:57 am
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Originally Posted by annbs
I have found a BOS-IST trip in BE on both Expedia and Orbitz priced ca. $800 less than on the Delta website. I checked with a Delta agent by telephone, but she could not bring up the lower price. My question: is there any downside to buying the ticket through Expedia (or Orbitz)?

Thanks for your help.
Downsides could be that Frequent Flyer miles may not be given and there will be more restrictions like change fees.

Since this is a business class ticket to an international flight and since Expedia, Priceline, and others are known online consolidators, this is indeed a consolidator or specially negotiated fare.

These fares usually open up if there are a lot of unsold seats and the airline is looking to fill the plane.

Airlines will not discount on full planes, it only happens when there are enough empty seats and the plane is less than full.

If you see these fares and understand the restrictions, they are very good.

Sometimes you can pay full coach class and get upgraded to Business class as well which comes out to cheaper than getting a discounted business class ticket.

But feel free to purchase from Expedia. I remember booking a ticket for someone else on it and they shipped out the ticket promptly via Fedex and the price also was much cheaper.

Obviously different firms will have different pricing on these discount fares depending on how hard you shop, but Expedia is a firm with a well established reputation.

Above poster is incorrect on saying it is not a consolidator fare and they only sell published fares.

If one booking engine sells a seat for $800 cheaper than Delta, unless it is a system pricing error, it is a specially negotiated or consolidator fare. This will occur the most often on international business class tickets which this is which will see these significant savings.

There is also the Y-up fare which is first class at walk up coach fare prices which airlines offer as well. I couldn't think of the name till now.

Go ahead and book on Expedia. It will cost a little more than the cheaper firms, but it is very easy to book through them especially if you think the deal is very good. Expedia is owned by Microsoft so it is a rock solid company.

Check whether mileage is given and how or not and fare change fees and baggage fees and make sure the price including all taxes is right. If it meets your needs, it will be an excellent deal.

I would like to say also: KLM has different fare rules so if one bought via KLM directly on some routes they give a different percentage of miles that accrue on different fare codes than buying directly through Delta.

Last edited by adamj023; May 19, 2012 at 12:17 pm
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Old May 19, 2012, 11:57 am
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By the way, to the OP, I would not delay in booking the $800 savings that you see. It might not last.

Especially given that you have 24 hours to cxl, right on the Expedia site.
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