How Do Most Purchase Airline Tickets?

I book online on the airline's website. If there is a problem, I don't want to deal with a third party. I've found that the airline websites offer more flights at often a lower cost.

I use this site for planning. Tickets must bought from the individual airline's website.
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
It has tools like the calendar function to show prices for various length of stays on round trips in a given month. You can also use for multicity/open jaw with +/- 2 days.

Use a number of different search engines (Orbitz, Kayak, etc.) to get a general feel for current pricing and availability. Then go to the airline site directly. As someone posted, if there is a problem I want to deal with the airline directly. Having said that, it is extremely rare for us to have a problem.

We do have some preferences for scheduling and routing and those take priority over the cheapest ticket. I am willing to pay for some conveniences while others prefer the cheapest ticket at any cost to themselves. I do not waste a lot of time trying to save a hundred dollars on airlines tickets. There are other places in my travel where it is easier to save money.

100% agree with Frank. I stay loyal to a couple of airlines and that sometimes means not getting the cheapest tickets. In the long run, this pays off in redeeming airline miles for free flights, upgrades, and the perks that go with the loyalty programs. And as the others said, I always book through the airlines. Most of the time, the priceson the airline website and third party websites are comparable. Twice I saw a big price difference. I called the airline and they honored the lower price.

I use search engine to get a feel for the cost/timing, and then buy directly through the airline's website when ready to purchase. Although I agree with Frank that I am willing to pay for the convenience and preferred route over the cheapness of the flights, it hurts more now that I'm buying for four rather than two.
I fly out of IAD, so my flights are more often than not with United, although I am willing to give USAirways a whirl since they are out of Philly, and a short connection from DCA.

I usually only deal with Delta since I am near Detroit, and their partners are airlines that I would fly, anyway. I had a problem once when I booked through a third party, it was resolved but took a long time and the carrier refused to intervene. I got the hint.

@ Steves,

i used a travel agent on my first trip to Hawaii, but that was it since they dried up.

No i do all of my booking for everything. to me it gets me in the mood to travel and also the anticipation of when i go. Also since my memory is going it keeps my mind active and so when i get there i have some familiarity with what im doing/seeing/staying.

as far as where to book.

I use: Skyscanner. com, Kayak.com and some others i forget.

happy trails.

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will contact Delta directly to book and add to my skymiles.

I went on Delta's site to book my ticket. The prices are comparable to what I found online. I went to book and saw the fare from Albany to CDG (around $1260.00) was NON-REFUNDABLE). I checked the refundable tix and they were over $4000.00. What is up? Help please.

I do all of my own booking online for airline tickets, train tickets, activities. I like having all of my confirmations in my TripIt app to refer to while on the road. I might use a site like Kayak for comparisons, but I book directly with the airline.

Are the tickets actually non refundable? What happens if I have to cancel the trip? My father is not well so I would hope to recoup my $$.

Read Delta's fine print. Often they can be reused within one year of the original dates on payment of a rebooking fee ($100 to $150?) and any price difference between the original ticket and the new one.

For what it's worth, European friends recently learned that despite verbal assurances from their travel agent that their return date on a round trip ticket may be changed for a reasonable fee, the ticket category allowed no changes whatsoever. A new one-way ticket had to be purchased.

The cheap tickets are always nonrefundable. Now, a lot of the time, you can change the dates if you keep the same itinerary. But you have to pay a fee. If you have to cancel for medical reasons, they may wave the fee if you get a sympathetic agent. But you have to submit documentation. Clarify this with the airline if this a big concern for you.

And Bruce's unfortunate story is the exact reason I don't book through a third party. The airline won't help you if you book through a third party. And the third party frequently doesn't have the power to help you. Another option is travel insurance. American Airlines gives you the option to buy it before you check out so I assume Delta would. I have never done it so I have never looked at it that closely. But it is usually 30-50 and I assume it would refund you some of your money if you have to cancel.

You might check into trip insurance through Insure My Trip (http://www.insuremytrip.com/). Depending on when you are going and if you have spent any money on the trip yet, you can get a policy that will cover the costs (not just airfare) should you have to stay home or interrupt your trip. My recommendation is that you look at the website a little bit and then CALL them. They will work back and forth with you, send you links to compare policies while talking to a real person, etc. They are very patient. Trip insurance may sound expensive, but compared to the overall cost of the trip, it is peanuts.

We already have a policy set up for next fall. I did it within the required 30 days of my first trip payment to get the pre-existing condition waiver since my husband and I both have health issues. Right now I've paid very little. As I add costs, I will pay more until I get all my reservations done. We have gotten insurance for all but one of our trips. Fortunately, we have never had to make a claim. That's where the real test comes in.

Only you can decide what coverage you want or need. Although I'm more of a do-it-myself-online person, I've found that talking with another person is the best way to figure out what we need. I did learn this last time that the "cancel for any reason" coverage is not the best thing for my husband and I. I also learned that the company we used before wouldn't work for us this time because we were going to be gone more than 31 days, so we had to go to a different company. The folks at Insure My Trip sorted that all out and helped me enormously with the decision-making on what coverage from that new company would be best for us.

.... Albany to CDG (around $1260.00) was NON-REFUNDABLE). I checked the refundable tix and they were over $4000.00. What is up?........

Steve, have you not traveled by air recently? That is the game that is being played and has been played for many years. You get a cheap ticket for six months from now, pay for it so they have your money for six months, and they will keep it if there is a change. If you want the flexibility of easily changing your ticket - you pay for it - $4000. That is what is up.

Some airplanes (most of the US based airlines) will charge a cancellation or rebooking fee of upwards to $200 plus any fare different to change to another schedule. Most likely the travel insurance offered by the airline will not cover the illness of another family member. Some third party insurance will but it is more expensive because you the risk of covering more people so do not assume that all travel insurance would accept the illness of your father as a reason to cancel a ticket. And often the insurance will cover the change fee and not the whole ticket.

Thanks all for your help. I will definately look into trip insurance and see where that leads.

As several have pointed out, I like to buy my tickets directly from the airline. Here is an example of why.
On our last trip to Europe, I got a very good deal on tickets through New York, the catch being that we had to change from Laguardia to JFK. There was a long layover, 7 hours if I remember right, so since it was such a good deal, I accepted that. I thought we would have plenty of time to transfer airports, eat, etc. Then just a few weeks before the trip, the time for the flight to Europe was changed, so that we now had a 2.5 hour layover. I asked for advise on this site, and everyone from NYC assured me that was not enough time. There was another flight from Dallas to JFK at the same time as the one to Laguardia. I called the airline (American), and they changed it for me after some polite insistance on my part. Had I made the reservation through a 3rd party, I think the result would have been less favorable.

Delta's change fee for international flights, as explained to me this morning, is now $300 plus the difference in airfare.

Be sure to buy your ticket with a credit card, not a debit card or check. I had tickets from California to Maui on ATA. When ATA went under, Visa refunded my money the next day. People that paid with a debit card were out of luck.

Not to be redundant, but I search the sites others have mentioned then always buy directly from the airline, most of the time in my case it's United. Never had a problem with them. With their partners there are lots of options that come up on their site (united.com). I usually get the cheapest flights I can find and then purchase the Economy Plus seats because I am tall, at least on the overseas portion of the journey. These have about the same amount of leg room as you get in an exit row seat on a normal flight. I always fly open jaw, which was recommended to me on this site when planning my first trip. I try to have only one plane change, which for United is usually Newark or Chicago, and sometimes in Houston. I am now retired and time is typically not a problem for me, so if I can save a little money I don't mind two plane changes, or a little longer layover in an airport. I have not tried to upgrade my seats on another airline, but I'd imagine that if someone like United does it the other airlines probably do too. FYI, in the past six years I've planned three two-week trips to Europe with my wife and her mother and it worked out fine. Now I'm working on my first solo trip there in September and for some reason this one seems harder for me to get going on. If anyone reading this can figure out why that's happening please let me know. Planning the other trips was easy by comparison.

kayak.com, hands down. I look daily for weeks, maybe even months. Then I book right through the airline that I see has the best fare. I've never used a discount website (or travel agent) to book a flight. When Continental used to exist, they had a price guarantee. I found it cheaper by a few dollars on a discount website, so I followed Continental's rules and was then able to get a $100 voucher for both my husband and I. Not sure if any major airlines still do that... I am scared to book through a discount website because I've heard where if there's a problem with a leg of your flight, the airline won't deal with you and you have to go through the discount website. I'm a bargain hunter extraordinaire, but I don't mess with international travel!!! You get what you pay for. (Like no legroom in economy. ;) )

First.. I appreciate all the responses.
Second...I usually book through a travel agency because they offer the travel insurance should anything go wrong. I know I pay extra for this, but it is comfortable knowing I have a safety precaution should something happen last minute.
I want to book directly on Delta's site but worried about the "no trip insurance".
I was gonna book today but held off thinking maybe I should check with my travel agent.
Any suggestions or advice?

I use Kayak, and book through the airline when I find a good fare. I like the search features, ability to compare airlines, do multi city, limit time of day, and other factors. I just like to be in control of all the factors and see it all laid out. I like to limit by layover time (I refuse layovers of less than 2 hours or more than 5), compare various dates, and then, when booking, select my seats. I have even cancelled a pending reservation at the last minute because decent seats were not available (I travel with children and I dread getting stuck in the middle between strangers). Basically, I'm picky and using Kayak to find a flight and the airline to book offers me the best ability to select the best option for my needs.

I've never used a travel agency, so I'm not sure what insurance they offer. I buy trip insurance through Travel Guard, which covers flight stuff as well as things like cancellation, medical issues when on your trip, car rental, etc.

Buy trip insurance separately. www.insuremytrip.com or www.squaremouth.com. I'm sure there are others.

I look at ITA Matrix, Hipmunk, and then Delta (preferred carrier going out of my local airports) because Hipmunk doesn't always pick up Sky Team alliance flights correctly in their search.

For a multi-stop trip, I also search multiple combinations of ticketing- see if everything is best on one ticket or if it's cheaper to break it into multiple tickets based on which carriers/alliances are bigger in which cities. For this summer's trip, it was about $1000 USD cheaper for each of us to go Delta from the USA to Edinburgh open jaw it Paris-USA as ticket #1 and then buy Edinburgh-London and London-Munich as one way BA tickets (Munich-Paris is train) than it would have been to do the whole route on a single ticket.

Hi there, just a quick tip, if you want to book a prime ticket and don't have enough miles you can convert any other loyalty programs into miles using GIIFT, great website, you should have a look!

Same comment as others have suggested. Search on Kayak or Expedia for options, then go directly to the airline site.

Here's another reason to book directly with the airline. Last weekend I was in Virginia with a United flight back to SFO on Monday from Greensboro, through DC to SFO. Weather reports were talking about 10-12 inches of snow in DC Monday. So Saturday evening, I called United and asked them to book me on a flight through Chicago, Denver, or Houston. Couldn't do anything for Monday, but was able to get seats Sunday afternoon connecting in Chicago back to SF. Due to impending weather conditions, United made the change without any additional fees and charges. I doubt I would have received the same service or flexibility from a 3rd party.

I have booked all my own airlines for 15 years. I only book with the airlines. Don't want the heart ache of a third party when flights get cancelled and seems these days they do a lot. Also I have check back and forth with sites like Orbiz and Expedia. And I don't see a savings worth it. Also I found that third parties never let you pick your seats until the last minute. With most airlines your seats are picked. You can even up grade to a larger seat if you want and it is all taken care of. You have to check all the airlines. We always fly out of San Francisco so we know now which airlines fly the cheapest to different locations depending on their hubs and routes.

I've found that the booking code/fare class is often lower when I purchased tickets from online third party sites. This means less flexibility and more restrictions with seat assignments and upgrades. As a result of frustration with loss of requested seats and inability to easily make changes, I now always go directly to the airline website for ticket purchases. And I haven't seen any difference in price between the two lately.

I NEVER use kayak. Too pricey.

I prefer to use momondo.com, vayama.com, skyscanner.com, and hipmunk.com to find great deals on international flights. Found out about these sites through some (travel addicted) friends of mine.

If you've got some time before your trip, also set an alert on airfarewatchdog.com by selecting the airports you want to fly out of and fly into, and it will alert you about low-cost flights as the airlines and travel companies release them. Realllly love that site.

steve, I research the websites already named and buy from the airline. Now a comment about cancelled tix. We had tickets RT to AMS for this summer. We have to cancel due to our daughter's illness. The Delta agent told me that the value of the tickets is good for one year from the date of purchase and can be used anywhere Delta flies. To reissue the tickets there will be a charge of $300 person, unless we can get a statement from our daughter's physician that we were needed at home and then the fee may be waived. Hope this info is helpful.