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Defending Airline Sites
Kirby's Korner · July 16, 1999

I asked for comments, and I got them. A couple of weeks ago, I explained that I do not trust airline Web sites to offer me the lowest fare available, and I said I tend to use online or brick-and-mortar travel agencies if price or convenience is a concern.

I understand some of the benefits available online from airlines -- more frequent flier miles, deeply discounted weekend fares for those who can travel quickly, some special rates the airlines advertise as being available only through their own Web sites -- but I wondered why these benefits are enough to nearly reverse online the "real world" practice of travelers booking through travel agents 80 percent of the time.

"Have you ever considered," one correspondent wrote in response to my request for an explanation, "that people do try BOTH Travelocity and Expedia BEFORE they go directly to the airline/hotel/car rental Web site?"

Well, duh.

Obviously, some people do -- many people, in fact, to read the responses I received. For me, however, such comparison shopping is too much a waste of time. For those who don't mind the Web hopping, the plethora of outlets for online buying is a boon -- and it sure doesn't hurt those of us who choose not to take advantage of it. I can only reply, as I might to priceline.com spokesman William Shatner, "I have a life."

One person explained that she did her comparison shopping before calling her company's travel staff with a complete itinerary to let that staff handle the actual bookings. "They LOVE it when I call," she said. No doubt. I hope this correspondent has analyzed whose time is more valuable to her company -- her time or the time of her company's travel staff -- and decided to act accordingly.

Some folks complained that even the special fares or other discounts offered on individual airline Web sites or by airlines in conjunction with specific online agencies simply can't match fares from other airlines. I agree. America West Airlines is almost always going to be cheaper than American Airlines, even with a deep discount from American. That's more a matter of knowing where to look -- and that's a service an offline agency is uniquely qualified to provide.

A correspondent complained about not being able to receive a senior citizen discount through an airline's Web site, necessitating a telephone call to a travel agent. Airlines offer discounts of all sorts -- for specific conferences, for various age groups -- that are not yet available through the Web.

I suspect we'll see this change as everyone gets more comfortable with online commerce and online reservations become a bigger part of the airlines' total revenue. For now, though, it's a valid reason to rely on the neighborhood travel agent.

I received a couple of suggestions of Web sites to try. One satisfied customer suggested Cheaptickets.com. This site sells both regular and consolidator fares, so if you're wary of consolidator fares make sure you know what you're doing there. The president of Airlines of the Web said his site offers both GDS bookings -- thus serving as an online agency -- and links to individual airline Web sites. He said the "split in traffic" of people coming to his site "is about 50-50 between the two."

Finally, several people complained about the differences in prices they see on several online agency sites -- and the lack of availability of some known low-price airlines such as Southwest Airlines on some of the sites. That, folks, is chiefly a matter of timing. Prices on the GDSs that all agencies use change constantly -- and not always at the same time on all GDSs.

There's little anyone can do if Expedia's Worldspan connection shows a lower fare than Travelocity's Sabre connection -- other than taking immediate advantage of the lower fare! Southwest?

We'll look at it and a few other loose ends next time.

David Kirby is the editor of the Interactive Travel Report. His column appears on Sunday. You can reach him at dbkirby@pressroom.com.