Kayak?

Airline tickets to Europe are a big enough investment that I'd rather book directly through the airline, even if it's a bit more expensive. I'll do some preliminary browsing on Kayak to see what's out there, then go to the airline websites. If you buy an itinerary through Kayak that includes a connection, who guarantees the connection in the event the first flight is late??

Jeff, that is not a valid question. If the booking is through airline AA and the flight is A to C and your miss the connection from B to C because of the airline's fault then the AA is responsible for getting you to C. Who sells you the tickets doesn't matter because the contract is with AA for A to C. As long as you can confirm that you have a ticket on the airline after purchasing through Kayak, I would not worry about it.

Last October, we used Kayak to book our May flights from YVR to VCE and from FCO to YVR. We found the UI to be excellent. We could change destinations and dates and were able to compare airlines, prices, durations, stopovers, etc. Kayak directed us to Expedia for the best flight using Alaska and British Air. We tried to book the same flight directly with the Airline websites and also asked a travel agent to book something comparable, but we could find a better price. We booked through Expedia via Kayak and did not have any problems.

I have looked at Kayak and other engines in the past, but always booked with the carrier directly. No fine tooth combing, but I always thought the prices on Kayak were identical to the airline, at least in my limited experience. The one time I used an engine (Orbitz) was a few years ago, and naturally, it turned out to be the only time I had to cancel the flight. I knew I would pay a penalty to the carrier, but I also had to pay another penalty to Orbitz. Unhappy x 2. Leki, were the itineraries identical, same flights, times etc? And funpig, please, what does UI stand for? I'd be very interested to learn about this. It could change my strategies for booking air. Thanks for the post.

The difference between Kayak and other on-line agencies has faded in the last few years. Many of them now search multiple sources, Kayak's original strength. And Kayak seems to sell some tickets itself.
My rules of thumb:

-- Where possible, book the entire trip directly with one airline. This puts more responsibility on the carrier if there is a botch-up, and also simplifies advance seat choice. That extends to airline alliances.

-- Consider an on-line agent when connecting between several airlines which do not sell each other's flight. Find out if your luggage can be checked straight through, and allow a healthy time between connections. But again, if things go wrong, your first assistance will be the airlines involved.

-- Do not expect emergency service from any on-line travel agency. That's not their specialty. Some might try to be helpful, but they are bookers, not custom travel agents working for a fee.

Leki, in your situation, make sure your comparisons are exactly the same. For instance, the flight that looks cheaper might have a stop or change of plane. Maybe not, but it is unusual for any agency to have a cheaper price on exactly the same itinerary as the airline offers (compare, again, an agency offering a combo that non-co-operating airlines won't book.)

Sorry, but this is not easy. Just enjoy the attitude that planning is part of your vacation.

"UI" means user interface.

I like that Kayak provides quotes for most if not all major airlines at the same time. I can quickly tweak the dates of departure and return and get quotes for all of the airlines at the same time. By changing the day of the week, the prices can change dramatically. Much quicker than going to each individual airline website to do the same thing. After Kayak gave me the best price, i tried booking directly ar British Airway, but found that Kayak was cheaper. In fact, the re-direct from Kayak to Expedia was cheaper than booking direct from Expedia. Anyways, i tried all he different bookings to get the best price. YMMV (your mileage may vary).

I think they are fair but I would take a look at skyscanner.net they are very good too.

Thanks for all of the advice. Skyscanner won't let me book an open jaw multi city ticket. I went back to Kayak and when I go to book it took me to "just Fly" website. Has anyone booked on Just Fly? Thanks!

I have been booking International tickets for years and totally agree with everyone who said they go directly through the airlines. These sites are all third party and if you have problems with your travel I can tell you that the airline is going to refer you back to who sold you the ticket. Believe me when you are stuck some where you will be happy that you spent the extra money. Flying is very precarious these days with over booked flights, weather, strikes and problems you never find out what happened. If you do book with these sites just make sure what they will do for you when problems arise.