Online Booking Or Travel Agent?

Thank you it helps quite a bit :)
I don't think there are direct flights from Denver To Manchester, so my best bet if I want direct will be Denver to London.

I never thought of directly dealing with the airlines :) I guess I assumed they'd automatically give me a high price haha.
Thanks!

Recently, airline websites have actually some of the lowest fares especially since many of the discount sites charge a fee.

Here's what I would do:

1) Go to a discount website such as Kayak.com, expedia.com, travelocity.com and see what flight s are available on which airlines and what they are charging.

2) Then go to the airline's website to see if you can do better. (Plus, if you buy from the airline's website and there is a problem, you deal with the airline. If you buy from a discounter and there's a problem, the airline may say talk to the discounter.)

3) Think about open jaw...flying in one airport and out of another....i.e. London and Manchester.

Both United and British Airways fly nonstop between Denver and London (Heathrow).

There arent any direct flights from Denver to Manchester from DIA. Only Denver - London. United is cutting that Den - London flight out of DIA, so dont count on United if you were shopping around! http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/06/23/daily43.html

I am flying to London in December, and I got my round trip ticket for $842, all taxes and fees and fuel charges, through www.flycheapabroad.com. They seem to be pretty good. The price may go down later in the year, but I would rather get it now while I had choices. Anything direct is going to cost about $300 more. That was my first priority, to try to go non stop but i couldnt pass up a good price so i have one connection in PA.

Thanks Tami-
By any chance anyone get a moment to read my post about B&B's? Any good places to stay!?

The question really is: How much time do you want to spend going from website to website looking for the cheapest seat? and How much is your time worth?

Up here in Canada a travel agent charges about an extra $30 on top of the cost of the ticket for doing all the legwork and I think its money well spent alot of the time, especially if you cant get direct flights. Though saying that for my flight in September I just went through one airline and booked it myself on line rather than use a TA.

Check for direct flights to Manchester, they have them from Ontario from Hamilton Airport I believe. Through a company called Canadian Affair.
Heathrow isnt bad but Gatwick is just as good and easy to travel round. Both have direct rail links etc into central London
Hope this sort of helps
Pete

Thank you! That really helps! Again, I really appreciate all the insight and POVs I'm getting it helps incredibly!!!

Holly,

Me, personally, I have done this both ways, and I have always had great luck with the Web. Like anything else, you get out of it what you put in. A travel agent will likely save you time, while doing the leg work on you own on the Web may save you some cash. Either way works.

As to flights, I know American Airlines has a direct flight from Chicago. You could go DEN-ORD-MAN. Airport experience is much less hassled in Manchester, but I have found flights to be quite a bit cheaper through Heathrow. LHR is well-crowded, and can be delay-happy. My best experiences at Heathrow have been with evening arrivals in London and evening departures from London. Fewer people, much shorter lines.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

According to recent travelers through Heathrow, flights may be more direct, but Heathrow is also very slow.
Hardly any flights arrive on time and seldom leave on time.

Buying on the web is OK, but you might want to talk with an agent before buying. Most agencies have a toll free phone number.

As for the travel agent; it will depend on the fee he charges you. Some will not charge if the carrier still pays him a commission. Some carriers do not.

HOLLY, My wife and I (Centennial,CO) always use our AAA travel agent. There is no additional cost to us (we are members) and she generally is able to beat the prices I find online. She uses a variety of consolidators. Remember the cost of a ticket quoted online usually excludes taxes and fees. Dorsey

This is only one experience, but I followed Rick's advice and booked my flight to Scotland with a travel agent and my son's flight, I booked myself on line. Results: my trip was almost twice as expensive as his, I got routed through Amsterdam (LONG flight!) and I had all kinds of problems getting confirmation of my trip interruption insurance booked through the agent. Would a different agent been a different experience? I don't know, but I will do it myself from now on.

I don't know why anyone who can use a computer would use a travel agent for normal European travel arrangements. I can use the Yahoo web site to compare most of the flights (everything that is carried by Sabre)...prices, number of stops, time of departure and arrival, the airline, (in some cases even the plane), and most importantly, the total intransit time (most airlines will spend approximately the same amount of time in the air...it's the dead time on the ground you have to control). Once I have determined what is acceptable with the market comparisons, I might try a consolidator but I must confess that I haven't been successful with consolidators on the flights I have tried their services.

I haven't used a travel agent for years, and I know I get the best price I can, as I spend some time doing my own online research.
My vacation dollar is important to me, I like getting the most bang for my buck,, I will spend the time to cheap out on a flight, so I can spend more on a nice dinner or sidetrip.

I have dealt with airlines directly. I then can choose my route and time exactly as I like, and I can then see what the other choices are.

In Canada travel agents can add up to 50, not 30 dollars more. Sorry, thats a dinner out for me.