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Consumer Reports tested 6 major travel sites on their ability to provide the lowest air fares and viable flight itineraries, ease of use, customer service, and privacy and security policies. Expedia and Travelocity garnered top marks, followed closely by Orbitz.
[Source: Consumer Reports
e-ratings: Airline Ticket Booking]

 


Air / Hotel / Car

We describe here online travel services that offer air, hotel and car rentals.
> For more specific sites see Hotels - Packages - Car Rental
> For gay places to stay, see Gay Accommodations.

The Big Three Online Travel Services

Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz are the leaders in online air, hotel and car bookings. All three are easy to use, offer many search and display options and have a wide selection of products. It's always wise to check out more than one as best buys are in constant flux.

Expedia.com
Expedia has customized sites for travellers from the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, & Germany
Ownership: IAC Travel (InterActive Corp.) also operates Hotels.com, Hotwire.com and HotelDiscount!com.

Travelocity
Travelocity has customized sites for travellers from the US, Canada, The United Kingdom & Germany.
- Travelocity Gay Travel
Ownership: Sabre Holdings.

Orbitz
Orbitz is available only for trips originating in the United States.
- Orbitz Gay Travel
Ownership: American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and United Airlines.

Opaque Online Travel Services

"Opaque" or "blind" travel sites do not tell you which airline, hotel, or car-rental company you’ll use until after you have made a commitment to buy. These sites can provide lower rates compared to open sites like Expedia but they charge higher booking fees and reservations are non-refundable.

Priceline - set a price and see whether a company can meet it.
Ownership: a public company, traded on Nasdaq stock market.

Hotwire - enter your desired itinerary; the airline or hotel are revealed after you provide credit card information.
Ownership: IAC Travel (InterActive Corp.) also operates Expedia and Hotels.com.

Other Online Travel Services

Cheap Tickets
Ownership: Cendant Corp. also owns Budget and Avis Rent-a-car and several major hotel chains.

Opodo - UK-based site.
Ownership: Ten major European airlines.

Individual Airline Websites

Not all airlines are included in online travel service databases. Even those that are may have specials available only at their own website.

Airlines of the Web is a comprehensive directory of individual airline websites.

Seat Guru - detailed seating plans for aircraft flown by 16 different airlines.

> > For more specific sites see Hotels - Packages - Car Rental.
> For gay places to stay, see Gay Accommodations.