Fllcontinental From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 344 posts, RR: 0 Posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 2724 times:
PlymSpotter From Spain, joined Jun 2004, 11126 posts, RR: 63 Reply 1, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 15 hours ago) and read 2723 times:
Well, up until recently it was Opodo who enabled me to book tickets to many destinations that Expedia is prevented from doing so, (for some reason - politics I expect) like Syria, Iran and Cuba. But, recently I've found even they won't bring up results and nor does Amadeus
Still though, my vote would be for the latter, as they show almost all of the timetables, so I can pick out the flights which will get me on the most interesting aircraft and airlines
JetBlueAUS From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 1145 posts, RR: 8 Reply 2, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 2708 times:
Travelocity.
filler
Not all of us can be heroes, some of us can only stand on the sidewalk and clap as they go by.
Dimoko From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 307 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 2674 times:
i like kayak as well, the sliders and the airline choices really make it easy to change the options. a lot of time when i fly i am pretty flexible about times, dates and airports so it is nice to see when i can save some money.
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." -- Douglas Adams
Fllcontinental From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 344 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 2668 times:
What is the difference between Kayak and Sidestep?
DFWMzuri From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 248 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 2647 times:
I used to like Kayak the best of those listed above. But recently I found Yahoo's FareChase to be better.
SEAdomer787 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 114 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 2613 times:
Definitely Kayak, mainly because it links you directly to the airline's website to book your flight (rather than having to go through Orbitz or Expedia) which is good when airlines offer FF Mileage promotions when you book online, and also because you can click "get info" next to Southwest Airlines and it takes you right to Southwest's reservation page. Makes it much easier to compare WN to the other options. The sliders and fare trend plots are cool too.
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 2609 times:
Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 1): But, recently I've found even they won't bring up results and nor does Amadeus
That's because they're the same system. Opodo runs on top of Amadeus. If it couldn't find flights, likelihood is either there aren't any, or they're sold out. What city pairs were you requesting ?
Buck3y3nut From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 864 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2608 times:
Another one: www.itasoftware.com
that's the one I prefer. Search there, then book through the airlines' website...
PlymSpotter From Spain, joined Jun 2004, 11126 posts, RR: 63 Reply 10, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2604 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 8): That's because they're the same system. Opodo runs on top of Amadeus. If it couldn't find flights, likelihood is either there aren't any, or they're sold out. What city pairs were you requesting ?
Well, it's a little obsolete now, because I just checked again on both sites and miraculously it's back again, but for the past two or three weeks I have been unable to access the schedules of Iranian internal flights on Amadeus, or to view any flight details on Opodo for an Iranian airline, this was the same with Syria and I'm pretty sure Cuba too. I was thinking it may be a little like the scenario where you search for a flight to Cuba on Expedia and all you get is a 'we are currently unable to sell tickets to this destination' message. Very thank full that it is not though, must have just been a little blip in the system perhaps?
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 2594 times:
Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 10): the past two or three weeks I have been unable to access the schedules of Iranian internal flights on Amadeus, or to view any flight details on Opodo for an Iranian airline, this was the same with Syria and I'm pretty sure Cuba too.
Haha - my blacklisting of Southwest UK-based hippies in the system worked - success !!
Curious - we do have a facility in the system to apply legal embargos, where agencies in a country are not allowed to sell travel to a particular destination, but those rules only apply the US, generally, and Opodo uses an office per site, eg. a French office for the .fr site. Were you using Opodo.co.uk ? The amadeus.net site uses a Nice office, so should not have been affected at all. Very strange - glad its working again.
Dartland From United States of America, joined Apr 2005, 637 posts, RR: 2 Reply 13, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 2586 times:
Quoting DFWMzuri (Reply 6): I used to like Kayak the best of those listed above. But recently I found Yahoo's FareChase to be better.
What about FareChase is better? It works very similarly to Kayak, but is more clunky and has fewer options.
Boston92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 3390 posts, RR: 7 Reply 14, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 2573 times:
Srbmod From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 16888 posts, RR: 51 Reply 16, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 2555 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 15):
Kind of limiting your choices a bit there, not so ?
In many cases, the airline sites have the best fares, as you don't end up paying booking fees.
I use Kayak and SideStep to get a general idea of fares and room rates and end up going directly to an airline's or hotel's website.
PlymSpotter From Spain, joined Jun 2004, 11126 posts, RR: 63 Reply 17, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 2551 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 11): Haha - my blacklisting of Southwest UK-based hippies in the system worked - success !!
Curious - we do have a facility in the system to apply legal embargos, where agencies in a country are not allowed to sell travel to a particular destination, but those rules only apply the US, generally, and Opodo uses an office per site, eg. a French office for the .fr site. Were you using Opodo.co.uk ? The amadeus.net site uses a Nice office, so should not have been affected at all. Very strange - glad its working again.
Moi - a hippy? Why, I'll have you know that I am in fact an elegant and highly cultured Lord of these pleasant Southern lands
It was Opodo.co.uk which I was using in conjunction with Amadeus - again the UK site. At first I thought it was just Iran Air who had perhaps withdrawn access to their systems, I know the leadership does random things like withdraw the entire internet from the country when they feel like it, but then I tried checking flights from DAM-ALP in Syria and again it insisted there were no flights available between the two cities on any dates. I managed to find out the information I wanted through the airlines own sites in the end - for once SyrianAir actually worked and Iran Air's own site also has useful, if probably now out of date fare information. Strange indeed - but it is all back to normal now.
Boston92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 3390 posts, RR: 7 Reply 18, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 2547 times:
Quoting Srbmod (Reply 16): I use Kayak and SideStep to get a general idea of fares and room rates and end up going directly to an airline's or hotel's website.
Right. Kayak is better tha United when you want to see times and schedules, but the actual booking is done at www.ual.com
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 1 hour ago) and read 2524 times:
Quoting Srbmod (Reply 16): In many cases, the airline sites have the best fares, as you don't end up paying booking fees.
Yes, they have good fares, but only for that airline. You are right to look on general sites first, and then double-check on the airlines site to see if you can get anything better. General sites like Opodo or Orbitz are a good first stop.
Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 17): At first I thought it was just Iran Air who had perhaps withdrawn access to their systems, I know the leadership does random things like withdraw the entire internet from the country when they feel like it, but then I tried checking flights from DAM-ALP in Syria and again it insisted there were no flights available between the two cities on any dates.
How far in the future were you looking ? Some airlines don't publish schedules a year in advance, some only provide 6 or 9 months at a time, depending on the detail period available in their systems.
Srbmod From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 16888 posts, RR: 51 Reply 20, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 2511 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 19): How far in the future were you looking ? Some airlines don't publish schedules a year in advance, some only provide 6 or 9 months at a time, depending on the detail period available in their systems.
What's odd is for example Delta. Right now, I can look up and book a fare many months in advance, but their flight schedules program you can download only provided schedules up to a certain date. For example, right now, the schedule available through the downloadable program go through February 12, 2008, yet you can book way past that online.
PlymSpotter From Spain, joined Jun 2004, 11126 posts, RR: 63 Reply 21, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting JGPH1A (Reply 19): How far in the future were you looking ? Some airlines don't publish schedules a year in advance, some only provide 6 or 9 months at a time, depending on the detail period available in their systems.
It was for October and November of this year - or whenever I think my University will not miss me for a couple of weeks
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 22, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 2492 times:
Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 21): It was for October and November of this year
Hmmm - the new northern winter schedule starts at the end of October, perhaps they hadn't got them loaded up when you were looking.
Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 21): or whenever I think my University will not miss me for a couple of weeks
Idle scruffbag ! Good to see taxpayers hard earned money subsidising your 707 flights !
Quoting Srbmod (Reply 20): What's odd is for example Delta. Right now, I can look up and book a fare many months in advance, but their flight schedules program you can download only provided schedules up to a certain date. For example, right now, the schedule available through the downloadable program go through February 12, 2008, yet you can book way past that online.
DL change their schedule quite radically on a weekly basis at least, I know - much more than most other carriers, even the other US majors. Maybe they don't want to pubish anything on the website too far ahead (despite allowing you to book). Anything you do book for the future is liable to be subject to multiple changes of schedules if booked to far in advance.
FXramper From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 7023 posts, RR: 93 Reply 23, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 2491 times:
Maracucho85 From Venezuela, joined Aug 2007, 50 posts, RR: 2 Reply 24, posted (5 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 2477 times:
Quoting Buck3y3nut (Reply 9): Another one: www.itasoftware.com
that's the one I prefer. Search there, then book through the airlines' website...
I completely agree with Buck3y3nut. I´ve found ITA Software the one system thats been able to include most of the airlines (If not all). Yes, you cannot book your flight through their site but it´s the info what I find most useful. Take a look at it.
Regards from Venezuela,
Alberto
25 AirlineFanatic: any sites that will allow you to mix cabins on a r/t or multi-leg trip?
26 SK601: I like www.priceline.com , just found a few good deals in CA, NV and FL.
27 YYZflyer: We use expedia. Sometimes when I'm bored, I just check out how much a flight to somewhere is and the aircraft flying there.
28 PlymSpotter: Very good indeed Would you rather I spent it on beer and lose women?
29 ExFATboy: I usually book on the airlines' own sites, so I use Kayak for research, then hop over and book directly. If it's a multi-carrier itinerary, I use Orbi
30 JGPH1A: Beer, yes. But I'm afraid even loose women have SOME standards, no matter how much cash you throw at them.
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Why, I'll have you know that I am in fact an elegant and highly cultured Lord of these pleasant Southern lands 
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