Therefore then is a fare glitch considered a loss leader? It brings in business and also hits to the website. Rather than run a $2500 commercial on tv, why not allow 100 people to book fares at $25 from the West Coast to Paris. It certainly got word of mouth running here where as a tv ad, you would probably ignore the Rising campaign or in the kitchen making a sandwich.
Not to say the glitch was intentional, but I don't think United lost much when it happened and by honoring the "steal" prices, possibly helped heal some of its wounds from last summer's nightmare. But those of us who know better, there is no such thing as a free lunch! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

For snooze you lose:
http://www.bestfares.com/travel/desk....asp?desk=lose

Doc, any way to search the snooze pages without simply scanning each of the tiny print pages one by one for a particular city?

Not that I'm aware of! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Note also, FWIW, that some internet services such as www.Qixo.com and www.Farechase.com will actually compare results from a variety of different web sites!

Aqueouschief: People are not upset about Orbit's capabilities, they are concerned that the airlines have funded this and everyone knows what that means. The real issue will be equal access to all fares for everyone.

Which, if any, of these "glitch", super low fares are upgradable?

It would be illegal for airlines to fix their prices, and Orbitz is supposed to be an unbiased, unweighted fare search site that cuts out the ticket distributer middleman(like ticketmaster). I think it's a good idea that would put some healthy competition out there--I think the consumer can only benefit.

here's an article I read: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/162756.html

Aqueouschief: No one is talking about price fixing. Currently, airlines are required by law to post all fares equally on all crs systems. If TWA wants to post a special fare on Worldspan (they own 25% of this CRS system), they are also requried to post the same fares on the other CRS systems. The only fares that are not found on CRS systems are the web specials airlines offer and they can do this becuase they do not load these fares into any of the CRS systems.

Orbitz has contractual language that states airlines will save 30-40% in booking fees with Orbitz if (and only if) they also allow orbitz to post their web specials on their site.

If Orbitz is allowed to do this,(they will not be breaking any rules becuase they are not a CRS system) every travel agent and online booking site (expedia and travelocity) will be at an disadvantage becuase they will not be able to show the lowest fares.

Over time, Orbitz would use this advantage to drive out of business all of its competitiors.

If you think this is good for the average consumer, you must not be very concerned about all of the airline mergers set to take place.

For more on orbitz see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/000805.html

MoreMiles is trying to be funny! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Of course this would not apply. You didn't buy the ticket based upon what gate it was leaving from, you bought it based upon the origin and destination.

But I agree with the rest of the folks who say, if the airline is willing to sell it (at ANY price) and I'm willing to buy it then it's a legit deal.

FlyerTalk is all about getting those "deals" out there and maximizing mileage. Why is it that when someone finds a way to accomplish those two things VERY WELL, they are then labeled as theives????!

Oh yeah, FlyerTalk is my best source for these great deals... I've racked up a bunch of them.

But, it becomes a bit addicting!

First, let me apologize for being out of the
discussion for a few days--I went to Washington for a conference--there is no snow down there!

OK, now remember, Orbitz will have to meet all criteria set down by the regulators. Orbitz has to be looked at by the Dept of Transportation and the Dept. of Justice. I’m sure they will have to meet competitive standards or meet with heavy penalties. I refuse to be cynical just yet (eventhough I was just in DC!) and I will leave those questions up to the regulators.

The real question is will Orbitz improve online travel services? Will it be better? It sounds like Orbitz will have access to more fare and it looks more user-friendly. However, I’m sure there are plenty of people who will continue to book through agents and are accustomed to Expedia or Travelocity. I mean, the vast majority of people who travel still utilize agents (more aesthetically pleasing), I bet there is room for everyone.

The argument that Orbitz is bad for competition is the same one used anytime someone adds innovation to an industry. Why be against innovation? If it’s good, and regulators ensure fair competition, it will force Expedia and Travelocity to be competitive and improve their services too. With currently 70 percent of the online market, I’m sure these two industry giants could use a little innovative competition from someone like Orbitz. Also, why aren’t people crying foul at how Expedia and Travelocity have bought all the smaller online travel sites? That seems as dangerous or even more so than adding new competition to this virtual duopoly.

-the humble Chief

And will orbitz award all FF miles!? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

The Airlines can lay blame on their own door steps for the dominance of Expedia and Travelocity. By capping online commission's at $10.00 they forced the numerous online sights of the late 90's to either merge or go out of business.

I have no problem with Orbitz as long as the other booking systems have the same access to the airline's cheaper fares. Orbitz is not a CRS system so is not subject to the same rules and regulations that would require this. All signs currently point that the cheapest fares will only be avaialble on Orbitz or the airlines own web sites. I do not call this fair competition and ceratainly not something that should be allowed to go forward.

duplicate post



[This message has been edited by Tango (edited 03-14-2001).]