Hotwire.com opens ... Will anyone get 40% off?
 

Sounds a lot like the much-hyped Orbitz. Backed by the major airlines, it promises discounts up to 40% (But like NW cybersavers, no FF miles).

Unlike Priceline, you can see a price before booking.

I tried a fare I already booked for December and discovered Hotwire could have saved me money: $1/ticket.

I eagerly await the route where I save 40%.
http://www.hotwire.com

See also:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/001210.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/000805.html

I checked out a routing and found a 25% savings over ITN. Not a bad savings. I wouldn't book through Hotwire though as I don't know which carrier I will be on (and I will walk before gracing the aisles of NW) and also no miles... that is the only thing you can't count on anymore.

Don't forget no control on time of day. Makes a huge diffrence on short trips. 6am vs 11pm? No thanks, my time is to valuable to me.

I got some decent (20-30%) savings on many routes from PIT.. but of course since I travel primarily on short weekend trips not knowing time of day makes them useless. But it's nice to have another option past Priceline where you always feel you could have saved another five bucks http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I just checked it out to see what a last minute ticket would cost between NYC and DFW: $255 on Hotwire (on one of the mystery airlines to be revealed after purchase); $690 on Expedia.com, on ATA. Hmmm!!!

[This message has been edited by JS (edited 10-25-2000).]

I purchased a ticket a while back when the site was still in beta and I was very pleased with the results. I think the site is geared towards leisure travelers who are flexible not business travelers under time constraints.

I do wish they awarded miles though.

hello, NO MILES??

why are we at flyertalk interested??

Not everyone on FT flies on tickets paid for with third party deep pockets. If you're paying out of pocket (directly or indirectly), is 2800 miles really worth $1800? (that's the difference in FF miles and dollars for my NYC-DFW example compared to AA)

you're talkin' to one of those without third party deep pockets. its just the amount of constraints seem so great...it makes it uncomfortable, for me, anyway, to give up that much control to a website, and then be stuck with what they offer, no questions asked.

I just did a trial run on Hotwire, much to my dissatisfaction. It was for a r/t FLL to PHL. US had it for $175.00 and it's not Metro Jet. That's cheap! Hotwire will sell it for $155.00. It's not worth $20.00 to commit to a fare when you don't know the time you are leaving or returning and whether or not you are going to make a stop or change enroute. I think even most leisure flyers would be afraid to buy "in the dark" let alone someone with a schedule to stick with. If one could see the itinerary this would be a great site. Until they incorporate schedule information this site will only be suitable for the most hard up of flyers.

If Hotwire revealed the itinerary, then it provides no value for the airlines. You make a trade off to save money.

You found a good published fare PHL-FLL, so Hotwire in that case to save $20, I agree, is useless.

But if you take a high fare market such as AUS-DEN which is routinely priced $340 for a connection or $450 for a nonstop, and can get an itinerary for $200 on Hotwire, it's a bargain.

Many Hotwire fares represent a small savings, especially in Southwest Airlines markets. In markets with low or no competition (such as ITH), there are also no savings on Hotwire. But in markets with high fares and decent airline coverage, the savings can be tremedous. Another example: SYR-SAT, $277 on Hotwire vs. published fare of > $500.

Wineman, were you checking advance purchase fares? That's not the purpose of Hotwire (I'm surprised you could save $20 if that was advance purchase). Airlines don't want to sell advance purchase seats at a further discount. Airlines do want to sell seats which will probably not be sold to last minute flyers (i.e., the middle seats not in the front of coach) -- that's where the savings are.

Hotwire is not for most leisure travelers; it's for price sensitive business travelers (or going to a funeral or visit a sick relative).

Hotwire is for the airline companies to sell a few last minute seats.

Hotwire represents the worst for frequent fliers. Not only no control no miles - hence little incentive to use - but also it is aimed at making coach class worse by filling more middle seats.

A friend of mine was recently looking for a SFO-SLC flight outbound 12/23, return 1/1. Best prices (inc. taxes, fees) were:

DL, UA (via their web sites): $188
Hotwire: $140 (times, airline unknown)
Priceline: $105 (UA nonstop flights at reasonable times)

Since I know the Priceline price, obviously my friend tried Priceline and got it. She's a very price-sensitive student so was rather happy with the results. I was surprised that the discount was so deep on peak holiday travel days. Anyone know if UA gives miles on Priceline tix?