Expert: Roberto Gomes - 10/13/2005

Question
Im not sure if this is in your expertice. If it is not I apologize.

I have been looking for a specific flight through several of the online sites (Travelocity, priceline, expedia)  Why would one site show a flight availability and others not show that same flight? I even have trouble finding the exact flight when I went to the airlines web site. If it is available, wouldn't all the sites show that availability? Also most of the sites say the tickets are nonrefundable. Is there a way to purchase the tickets but keep the option of canceling the trip and not lose 100% of my money?

Answer
Dear Steve:

The best way to look at a specific flight is to go directly to the airline website. Since it controls the inventory the faster the availability will be shown. There are a lot of links that a seat opening must follow before reaching other sites. Also, I believe that some sites won't show certain seats/fares because their comission will not be worth to market and some sites have a partneship with a particular airline to show their flights first.

By the other hand you will find a lot of nonrefundable fares because they are sold like bananas i.e. it is very common on the market today. Before buying a particular fare you must read all the rules applied to check how the cancelling policy is applied.

Hope this helps. If you have further questions please let me know.

Best Regards,
R. Gomes