Booking Flights with online service - good/bad experiences?

[oohrah]

On the rare occasion that I used to fly, I booked directly with an airline. I have to travel to Europe next summer, and it seems I can get good deals going through 3rd parties like travelocity or priceline.

I have never used one of these booking services, so just a little leery. Any past experiences good or bad? Gotchas? Things to look out for? Recommendation?

Thanks

[Flightmare]

I have used Travelocity and Expedia both and had zero issues. My advice would be to price out the flights on multiple sites, including the airline's directly. Go with whatever is the best deal. YMMV

[DocV]

I have booked several trips abroad using Travelocity and Expedia. No issues with those. I still opt for travel insurance just in case.

flights.google.com gives you a good comparison and shows how varying flight dates can impact your travel costs.

[rotor]

I have not flown commercial in years but I have heard one trick that you might consider, use a VPN when booking and price the ticket from various countries by switching the VPN location. Apparently the price can change significantly depending upon which country the VPN you use is located in. I have not formally tried it but I would consider it.

[RoadRunnerTR21]

I always go directly to the airline (American in my case) and hotel. If there are any issues I know who I have to deal with.

[LDP]

I normally book through Expedia or the airline directly and have no surprises. Including international flights.
But stay away from the scam sites like Priceline or Kayak. They use bait-n-switch tactics to lure you in, collect all your information and then as you click "Finalize payment" (or similar), they pop up a message "sorry, the prices has changed since you looked last time" and they show prices usually N-times higher. Never had any luck there, whether with domestic or international tickets.
So I stick with reputable companies.
YMMV

[03Lightningrocks]

I normally just book with the airline direct. I have used price line years ago to get cheap flights. The bad part was the cheap flights often had multiple stops or airplane changes along the way. My sister-in-law book a flight for my mom through priceline. Florida to Texas. It had five stops and three airplane changes. The was the last time mom allowed her to book a flight for her. Hahaha, it took about 9 hours to get here.