Christianna Kreiss thought she would be flying to India with her family a few weeks ago. Instead, she spent hours in Pittsburgh, trying to sort out a messy airline reservation that involved Air Canada, Lufthansa and Orbitz.
Orbitz
Ah, the perils of being your own travel agent.
True, Jorge Sanchez-Salazar booked a nonrefundable room at the Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport through Orbitz. And it’s true, too, that he canceled the trip, and that under the rules, the hotel could keep his money — all of it.
Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates the largest fleet of rental cars in the world under the Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car brands, will announce tomorrow that it is ending its relationship with Orbitz.com and its sister site CheapTickets.com on April 1 after “months of difficult discussions.” I asked Pam Nicholson, the president and chief operating officer of Enterprise Holdings, to explain the decision and what it means to travelers.
Maybe you’ve heard about the little dust-up between American Airlines and several online travel agencies, including Orbitz and Expedia.
Booking a flight online may be convenient, but it’s far from problem-free. Just ask Charles Bornheim, whose son is holding an extra airline ticket he booked through Orbitz.
Expedia. That’s according to a survey of my authoritative email “in” box, which contains seven years of complaint data from travelers. Coming in second? Travelocity, followed by Orbitz.
Here’s a question that came to me by way of the Monday afternoon Washington Post chat on travel (and by the way, if you haven’t dropped in to ask a question, please do). Karen Luong booked her honeymoon flights from Baltimore to Naples, Italy through Orbitz in mid-June. She received reservation number from the online agency, but hasn’t been charged yet.
When Gary Kawesch books airline tickets through Orbitz, he finds a $24 charge for travel insurance that he never bought. Or thought he never bought. Can he get a refund, or is he stuck with something he never meant to order?
Let me start by saying that I like Orbitz. I like its new CEO, Barney Harford. I like the hard-working folks in its customer service department. I like the way it uses technology to improve your trip. But I do not like the way it pre-checks the option to buy travel insurance when you’re booking [...]
Last week’s story about how the Transportation Department has adopted a more pro-consumer attitude didn’t include the recent fine against United Airlines and news of its new Web site.
When you buy a travel package through an online travel agency, you expect the price to be significantly less than if you booked each item separately, right?
Looks like British Airways may be shut down by a strike — just in time for the holidays. I’ll let the beat reporters dissect this story, but there’s one angle that appears to be getting overlooked: What’s going to happen to passengers with “codeshare” reservations?
If you’re confused about the online travel agencies’ service and price guarantees, take a number. So am I.
Here’s a cautionary tale for anyone buying an airline ticket for the holidays, and a little advice: Pay attention your bank account balance. And be patient.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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