Orbitz ripoff

"Jr" wrote in message
...
We booked a flight through Orbitz for my wife to visit her sister in NYC
in May.
We paid $309.90 with fees.

We were supposed to get a "lowest fares" guarantee from Orbitz.

Here is the ripoff: Prices have gone down and they are now $40 cheaper.
We called Orbitz. We were told that we would only get the cheaper rate if
someone booked the same flight at the lower price.

So here it what needs to happen for us to get our lower rate:
1. a person needs to book a flight from Peoria, IL to LaGuardia Airport
flying at 6:00 AM on May 8th.
2. the same person needs to book a return flight from LGA to Peoria on the
12 noon flight on May 16th.

Only if the above is booked by another person will we see the money
returned.

Needless to say, this will be the LAST time we book with Orbitz. We will
use our local TA from now on.

What a ripoff. I have a better chance of winning the lottery than
expecting someone here in Peoria will want to go to NYC on the same flight
and day and return on the same flight and day as my wife.



I'm not trying to be a smart a-- here, but that's how I understand the
guarantee. If someone books the same trip as yourself at a lower price, the
refund kicks in.

"Same trip" would be the exact same itinerary, i.e. destinations, dates,
times, flights and class.

So, unless I'm missing fine print or a part of the story, that shakes out,
doesn't it?

On 4/10/2009 12:05 PM, Riley 77 wrote:

I'm not trying to be a smart a-- here, but that's how I understand the
guarantee. If someone books the same trip as yourself at a lower price,
the refund kicks in.

"Same trip" would be the exact same itinerary, i.e. destinations, dates,
times, flights and class.

So, unless I'm missing fine print or a part of the story, that shakes
out, doesn't it?

Right, if you actually click on the offer on their website, they
explain it. It's only if you just see the banner or the ad on TV
that you won't know the details.

Bill

"Bill" wrote in message
...
Right, if you actually click on the offer on their website, they explain
it. It's only if you just see the banner or the ad on TV that you won't
know the details.

Bill, from their website description, it's still not 100% clear to me how
they would treat 2 particular issues. The first concerns "flight" vs.
"itinerary". If someone's outbound flight is subsequently sold at a reduced
fare, does the guarantee apply even if the traveler in question has a
different return flights (and thus itinerary)? And second, there are
multiple booking codes for coach, for example. While it's clear that there
is a distinction between first class and coach, is there a similar
distinction between different types of coach tickets?

As an aside, on Trip Advisor, someone described a situation where they
subsequently bought tickets for a relative on the same flight/itinerary for
a lower fare and it took calls to 3 Orbitz personnel before he got the
refund. Evidently, the first person he spoke to interpreted the guarantee
very precisely by telling him that he was not ANOTHER person who bought the
ticket.

While it's clear that there
is a distinction between first class and coach, is there a similar
distinction between different types of coach tickets?



I havent flown since 2006, where first class was first class and coach was
coach.

Apparantly, in coach, the aisle and window seats are more pricey, and for me
at 6'6" the exit row
got pricier as well...

Wow. oh well.

I prefer cruising these days. Off on Carnival this september..and I ll make
the drive to Ft Lauderdale....

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:46:35 GMT, "Riley 77"
wrote:

While it's clear that there
is a distinction between first class and coach, is there a similar
distinction between different types of coach tickets?



I havent flown since 2006, where first class was first class and coach was
coach.

Apparantly, in coach, the aisle and window seats are more pricey, and for me
at 6'6" the exit row
got pricier as well...

Wow. oh well.

That's only on some airlines - United and American, I think, but you
should ask a travel agent. Southwest has one class of seats, but
doesn't do advance seat selection, so you can pay more for the chance
to board earlier and get a shot at a preferred seat.

"Jack Hamilton" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:46:35 GMT, "Riley 77"
wrote:

While it's clear that there
is a distinction between first class and coach, is there a similar
distinction between different types of coach tickets?



I havent flown since 2006, where first class was first class and coach was
coach.

Apparantly, in coach, the aisle and window seats are more pricey, and for
me
at 6'6" the exit row
got pricier as well...

Wow. oh well.

That's only on some airlines - United and American, I think, but you
should ask a travel agent. Southwest has one class of seats, but
doesn't do advance seat selection, so you can pay more for the chance
to board earlier and get a shot at a preferred seat.


JetBlue has some rows with greater legroom than their normal seats. They
try to get you to pay an extra $30 for these rows.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
On 4/10/2009 12:05 PM, Riley 77 wrote:

I'm not trying to be a smart a-- here, but that's how I understand the
guarantee. If someone books the same trip as yourself at a lower price,
the refund kicks in.

"Same trip" would be the exact same itinerary, i.e. destinations, dates,
times, flights and class.

So, unless I'm missing fine print or a part of the story, that shakes
out, doesn't it?

Right, if you actually click on the offer on their website, they explain
it. It's only if you just see the banner or the ad on TV that you won't
know the details.


Again, like I said before, the chances of someone even booking the same
itinerary ie: same plane, same second plane, same day, returning on the same
plane, same second plane, same day are greater than me winning the Mega Ball
lottery. So there is no risk that Orbitz will ever payout on a two-plane
round trip flight from a small airport.
Especially from Peoria, IL.

Al Sherman wrote:


JetBlue has some rows with greater legroom than their normal seats.
They try to get you to pay an extra $30 for these rows.


It was $25 each way and worth every penny! Flew JetBlue down to San
Juan and back for the Summit cruise.

Jeff