orbitz Problem........

Imagine got to check in? No record of my flight? Has anybody else had this happen? So in the future, <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> I should have checked with Orbitz days before flight. I had a confirmation # in December of 2015!!!

Sadly, this is why it is best to deal directly with the airline and not a 3rd party.

you didn't print the confirmation?

Personally, I always print my confirmation and always deal direct with the airline.

Likewise for us. Two or three times a few years ago I checked prices with Travelocity and Orbitz but the one time it was less than dealing directly with my preferred carrier the difference was so minimal it didn't seem worth the effort. I also like the idea of dealing directly with the carrier without a middle man. If there is a problem I know exactly who to go to rather than getting any kind of a run-around or being shuffled back and forth between the consolidator and the airline as so often happens.<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

You can find your plane ticket through your credit card. You'll have a record # there.

Not that it helps your situation, but the third party sellers offer nothing to the consumer other than more fees. Kayak and a few others send you to the direct site and get a small fee for their referral I guess.

Not to rub it in, but we always book directly with the airline. Pay a few dollars more, but they work with you a lot better if any changes occur or if you need to make changes in your itinerary.

Many years ago I reserved a rental car in Florida by using either Orbitz or Travelocity, I forget. The price was a great one. I copied the reservation confirmation which had the confirmation number on it.
At the airport I phoned the rental agency for directions. I was told not to bother coming since they had no car for me due to over booking. I told them that I had a confirmation number. They said it didn't matter. They told me that I wasn't the only person to not get a reserved car as if that would make me feel better.
I contacted Orbitz or Travelocity and told them that since I made the reservation through their website they have some responsibility in this situation. They told me that they didn't and basically couldn't care less. Of course I have never used any of these 3rd party reservation sites ever again.

A friend has a very similar problem with a car rental last year and they had specifically reserved a van for a long family trip. Never again for them either.

I actually have used Orbitz when I needed to combo with a hotel for part of my visit. However, I did make a point to verify with the airline that everything was set up as expected. Now that was a couple years ago so things may have changed since then (i.e. inputting the FF#, etc) but at the time, everything went off without a hitch.

Many times there are probably not problems but let it happen once and most will hesitate to use a third party site again.

It's a hard, sometimes costly lesson, but one we learned over 20 years ago when Travelocity first started doing business. We booked a flight through them and had difficulties checking in when we got to the airport. Problem was eventually solved but it was a bit nerve wracking and we almost missed our flight (that was in the days before 9/11 and all the TSA security hassles). Anyway, decided then and there NEVER to use a third party site when making/booking any type of travel arrangements. We ALWAYS deal directly with the airline, hotel rental car company, etc. We sometimes check the travel websites for pricing but usually find we get the same or better pricing when dealing directly with the vendor.

Like most have said, we shop on the travel sites and book directly with the airline. We have never seen a big difference in price.

OK, I had to, it reminds me so much of this Jerry Seinfeld bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM

I like to use Kayak.com to search. They will compare all the options in one place, but click you through to the airline, hotel, whatever for the actual booking.

Two years ago we booked our flights through USAir (US Scare) and our friends booked through Orbitz. Same flight. While we were at the gate an announcement was made that the flight was cancelled until the next morning due to "technical difficulties". Our friends got an e-mail from Orbitz stating that the flight was cancelled, but they were rescheduled for the next flight leaving in about an hour. USAir was unable to reschedule us saying there was no availability. Go figure. Makes you think. Also.....The past 2 years USAir, now AA, has cancelled our flight while at the airport. One year on the way down and the next year on the way back. Will not use them again. I will pay more to take another airline.

Why does everyone call it US Scare? I've never been frightened when flying US Airways; we've been flying them for decades, and have always had great experiences! Our only fiascoes have been with United.

were you able to find a flight??

I agree. USAir/AA/Delta/JetBlue/United all have their issues. Personally, I favor Delta of late but no airline will ALWAYS please everyone 100% of the time. JetBlue was a darling a few years ago and now they seem to have as many (or more) issues as the others.

I have been using Orbitz quite a bit lately as they offer a 15% discount above hotel rates, additional kickback of hotel/airline costs, and 5% to use their credit card--a combination that's hard to refuse.

Anyway, I have checked each of my three flights in the airlines reservation system to confirm that the res and appropriate traveller info got passed along properly. It did. I also needed to follow up with the hotels to make sure our room requests got entered properly in the hotels reservation system.

So, I always confirm with the airline/property that my booking is in their system, and that my special requests are properly noted.

GaKaye. It's just that USAirways has let us down more often than not and customer service is horrible. Just our experience.

DITTO!