Delta directly or orbitz/travelocity/expedia?

polyglotmom
Sat, 15 May 2010 12:48:01 +0000

It all depends.
I had to book an oversea’s flight Friday for Monday flight (last minute) and the airfare for coach seat was about $4,700 on Delta website. I tried Kayak, which led me to Orbitz. After researching that there could be a fare around $1,900. So clicked on it and it showed $1,700 as an instant new price. I immediately called a travel agent specializing in overseas and I was able to give the flight details and they were also surprised that a special fare was available. I ended up paying a lower than Orbits price. And yes, I will get Delta miles for those flights. Since the reservation had my frequent flyer number, it showed up immediately on Delta site’s itinerary and I was able to choose my seats. A savings of almost $3,000 for a last minute fare is not too bad. So I was better off not to book through Delta.com. I frequently check with kayak.com first as delta.com does not always give you the least expensive routing.
For International flights, it is good to check with travel agents specializing in those countries. I do have to admit that they are not that easy to locate online.