In the previous online agent test Expedia vs Travelocity we saw Expedia come out on top. Let's continue the head to head by pitting Expedia against Orbitz and CheapTickets.com.
US/North American Domestic - once again flight prices were exactly the same on all agents.
International flights:
Washington - Paris
Expedia $563, Orbitz $567, CheapTickets $567, All Lufthansa / United.
San Francisco - Tokyo
Expedia $870, Orbitz $874, CheapTickets $874, All Asiana
Atlanta - Buenos Aires
Expedia $689, Orbitz $693, CheapTickets $693, All United
Toronto - Johannesburg
Expedia $1,105, Orbitz $1,109, CheapTickets $1,109, All Northwest/KLM
Boston - Mexico City
Expedia $457, Orbitz $457, CheapTickets $457, All American
New York - Hong Kong
Expedia $773, Orbitz $777, CheapTickets $777, All United
London - Sydney
Expedia $901 Etihad, Orbitz $1,150, CheapTickets $1,150 Virgin
Los Angeles - Auckland
Expedia $973 Air NZ, Orbitz $1,037 Qantas, CheapTickets $887, Air NZ/United
Some conclusions:
Orbitz and CheapTickets.com have almost identical web interfaces, having the same owner. They came back with identical results except for the LAX-AKL flight where CheapTickets found an Air NZ / United Airlines flight via Sydney for $150 less than Orbitz's Qantas flight.
(Now once again we are purely comparing price, whether you would want to fly via Sydney, or use United's relatively inferior long-haul economy product is another matter...)
Expedia quoted Etihad's competitive London - Sydney fare, $249 cheaper than Orbitz/CheapTickets Virgin fare.
On many of the fares Expedia comes out $4 cheaper - this looks like Expedia is charging less fees than its competitors.
So the winner in this short test is Expedia.
This post first appeared on TravelGenius Blog - Air Travel Tips | Cheap Flight Airline Deals, please read the originial post: here