Flights Avail on Orbitz.com but not NWA.com?

[wdaveo]

Is it common for certain flights to show up on sites such as Orbitz that aren't showing up on NWA.com?

Should I just book thru Orbitz or should I contact NWA and ask about the flights?

I have had so much trouble with changed and cancelled flights even when I book through the airlines website, that I am nervous about booking through a third party site. Is there any reason for me to worry?

Thanks!

Dawn

[camachinist]

An example would be helpful...

Did you try targeting specific times, based on what you saw on Orbitz, and searching by schedule?

I wouldn't "worry" about buying through a TA site; just stay on top of the reservation, which you would need to do anyway.

BTW, did you try searching the same O&D with NWA Vacations?

Pat

[wdaveo]

Thanks for your help. Here's what I am looking at:

MBS to LAS Departing 8/20, Returning 8/22 (eve - overnight flight)

Orbitz gives me the following but I cannot find anything even close at NWA.com:

MBS to DTW departs 10:25AM
DTW to LAS departs 12:11 PM arrives LAS 1:29 PM

Return:

LAS to DTW departs 10:35 PM 8/22 (overnight)
DTW to MBS departs 8:50 AM 8/23 arrives MBS 9:50 AM

Orbitz price: $387 + $46 fees/taxes = $433

I need to be in Vegas by 4PM on 8/22 and I need the overnight flight on 8/22 so I can get home early on 8/23.

Thanks for your help!

[camachinist]

First, some fares: I'm assuming there's a reason you're flying NW/DL, so am limiting information to those carriers...

Fare Details
 
Departing Airport 	MBS
Arriving Airport 	LAS
Departure Date 	08/20/06
 
Note:
The fares listed do not include airport and/or security fees.
 
Fare Basis 	Airline 	Booking Class 	Trip Type 	Fare 	Effective Date 	Expiration Date 	 
56 Fares Returned
TRA7TN 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	308.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
LR7V8N 	NW 	L 	Round-Trip 	330.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
TRA7N 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	330.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
V7E2KN 	NW 	V 	Round-Trip 	378.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
VR7V8NU 	NW 	V 	Round-Trip 	384.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
TRA7NU 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	384.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing
Q3EQ2KN 	NW 	Q 	Round-Trip 	428.00 (USD) 			View Rules    View Routing

Next, let's look at your dates....

 Flight Availability - MBS to LAS - 08/20/06
Airline 	Flight 	Stops 	Departure 	Arrival 	Aircraft 	Meal 	Available Classes 	 
5 Flights Returned
1 Connection
  	NW (9E) 	2919 	0 	MBS
08/20/06 10:25AM 	DTW
08/20/06 11:15AM 	CRJ 		Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1199 	0 	DTW
08/20/06 12:11PM 	LAS
08/20/06 01:29PM 	757 	L 	P9 F8 Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
1 Connection
  	NW 	1742 	0 	MBS
08/20/06 07:00AM 	DTW
08/20/06 07:45AM 	D95 		P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1191 	0 	DTW
08/20/06 08:46AM 	LAS
08/20/06 09:59AM 	757 	B 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
1 Connection
  	NW (9E) 	3738 	0 	MBS
08/20/06 08:34AM 	DTW
08/20/06 09:24AM 	CRJ 		Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1199 	0 	DTW
08/20/06 12:11PM 	LAS
08/20/06 01:29PM 	757 	L 	P9 F8 Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
1 Connection
  	NW 	469 	0 	MBS
08/20/06 01:32PM 	DTW
08/20/06 02:19PM 	D95 		P9 F8 Y9 B9 M9 H1 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1195 	0 	DTW
08/20/06 03:30PM 	LAS
08/20/06 04:52PM 	319 	S 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H1 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
1 Connection
  	NW (9E) 	2808 	0 	MBS
08/20/06 03:28PM 	DTW
08/20/06 04:20PM 	CRJ 		Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1189 	0 	DTW
08/20/06 07:31PM 	LAS
08/20/06 08:54PM 	757 	F 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H0 Q0 V0 L0 T0 K0 	
5 Flights Returned
 
Flight Availability - LAS to MBS - 08/22/06
Airline 	Flight 	Stops 	Departure 	Arrival 	Aircraft 	Meal 	Available Classes 	 
3 Flights Returned
1 Connection
  	NW 	1194 	0 	LAS
08/22/06 10:35PM 	DTW
08/23/06 05:20AM 	757 	F 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L9 T9 K9 	
NW 	1405 	0 	DTW
08/23/06 08:50AM 	MBS
08/23/06 09:50AM 	D9S 		P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L9 T9 K9 	
1 Connection
  	NW 	1192 	0 	LAS
08/22/06 02:30PM 	DTW
08/22/06 09:32PM 	757 	D 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1789 	0 	DTW
08/22/06 10:05PM 	MBS
08/22/06 11:00PM 	D9S 		P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L0 T0 K0 	
1 Connection
  	NW 	1196 	0 	LAS
08/22/06 10:50AM 	DTW
08/22/06 05:48PM 	757 	L 	P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L0 T0 K0 	
NW 	1447 	0 	DTW
08/22/06 07:00PM 	MBS
08/22/06 07:46PM 	D9S 		P9 F9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 V9 L0 T0 K0

Hmm... I'm not seeing anything in the lower buckets outbound, which may be why NWA.com isn't returning the same price.

Double hmmm...this is what I see on Orbitz now, when plugging in your dates/times...

Showing lowest priced flights (36 flights out of 36 total)

Select
$499 + $46 taxes & fees = $545  per person
   Part of OrbitzTLC

Choose this departure

Leave
	
Sun, Aug 20
	
Northwest Airlines 3738
operated by Pinnacle Airlines
Northwest Airlines 	

Depart:
    8:34am
Arrive:
    9:24am

	

Bay City/Midland/Saginaw, MI (MBS)
Detroit, MI (DTW)
1 stop  

    * Economy
    * 50min
    * Canadair
    * View seats


Change planes. Time between flights: 2hr 47min

		
Northwest Airlines 1199
Northwest Airlines 	

Depart:
    12:11pm
Arrive:
    1:29pm

	

Detroit, MI (DTW)
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
 

    * Economy
    * 4hr 18min
    * Boeing 757
    * View seats

Total duration: 7hr 55min


Choose this return

Return
	
Tue, Aug 22
	
Northwest Airlines 1194
Northwest Airlines 	

Depart:
    10:35pm
Arrive:
    5:20am

	

Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
Detroit, MI (DTW)
1 stop  

    * Economy
    * 3hr 45min
    * Boeing 757


Change planes. Time between flights: 3hr 30min

		
Northwest Airlines 1405
Northwest Airlines 	

Depart:
    8:50am
Arrive:
    9:50am

	

Detroit, MI (DTW)
Bay City/Midland/Saginaw, MI (MBS)
 

    * Economy
    * 1hr 0min
    * Boeing Douglas DC-9

Total duration: 8hr 15min

This is an overnight flight.

I'm not seeing the lower priced flight you mentioned. BTW, can you fly other carriers and/or out of LAN or FNT? IMO, the problem is the outbound, being Sunday morning....availability sucks nearly everywhere....

Pat

[wdaveo]

Dang, the price went up in the last hour. arggghh. Now I'm mad.

I guess I'll have to look at Flint. If I go to LAN or DTW I need to change the schedule all around to account for driving time.

I can fly other carriers...I was just excited about finding decent flights from my home town.

Starting over from scratch...

Thanks for your help, though!

Dawn

[wdaveo]

OK, at this point I guess I would appreciate any advice on getting to Las Vegas on the cheap from Michigan.

Thanks!

Dawn

[camachinist]

No worries...fares are loaded a few times a day, and availability changes minute to minute and not always because someone has bought the fare.

Take a deep breath and keep checking....by posting your parameters, it makes the searching much easier.

IIUC, the parameters which are inflexible are your dates and times.

Since you know your local area better, post a list of airports you'd be willing to fly from, if the other parameters can be met. I'm seeing Lansing, Flint and Detroit as alternative possibilities to Saginaw. Add/subtract?

Pat

[wdaveo]

Hi Pat, I went ahead and grabbed a non-stop flight out of Detroit for $330 total. I guess I'm happy with that. (Seems expensive for Vegas, though!) Hate to do the extra driving, but I like the non-stop part!

Thanks so much for your help!

Dawn

[camachinist]

Found this on NK (SpiritAir) out of DTW (Detroit)...

Itinerary Information
 Date	 Flight	 Time	 Cabin	 Approx. Miles
08/20/2006	NK900 Detroit (DTW) to Las Vegas (LAS) 	9:15 AM-10:35 AM	Economy	1744
08/22/2006	NK788 Las Vegas (LAS) to Detroit (DTW) 	11:05 PM-6:00 AM	Economy	1744

Number of Passengers:		1
Airfare+: 		$290.00
Taxes and Fees:		$20.60	 (what's this?)
Total:		$310.60
	
Total Due:	$310.60
	  

+Airfare includes base fare and any applicable fuel surcharges.

http://www.spiritair.com/welcome.aspx

Will keep checking...well, then again, maybe not

Pat

[Cheryl17]

Originally Posted by wdaveo

I have had so much trouble with changed and cancelled flights even when I book through the airlines website, that I am nervous about booking through a third party site. Is there any reason for me to worry?

My experiences with ORBITZ when there have been schedule changes have been excellent. ORBITZ has always notified me by e-mail when there has been a schedule change. Lately, when I find the same fare on an airline's website and on ORBITZ, I book on ORBITZ (and pay the ORBITZ service charge) for this reason.

[Timeshare Von]

As a 50k+ flier on NWA annually, I have a real love/hate with them! The Orbitz gig is a bit of a bait n switch as far as I'm concerned. Frequently they will have cheaper flights "available" only to try to book them and have them say "unavailable" and move you up into a higher priced ticket.

I did have an itinerary come up recently on Orbitz, that I couldn't replicate on NWA.com. When I called the agent, she told me that the flights they were selling at Orbitz were part of inventory that was "less than desirable" and they were unloading them at less than typical prices.

My experience with NWA has been that they always let me know about changes in flights, especially since they are literally canceling flight segments daily. When that has happened, and they give a new flight itinerary that won't work for whatever reason, they have also been accommodating to give me/us better choices. Recently on two different trips (one for work, one for vacation) they really messed with my scheduling. I was able to make it actually work to my advantage to have them cancel one of the flights in my original segments. The secret is, be sure to call them ASAP when you receive the notice of a change. If you call in a timely manner, they will almost always take care of you, regardless of the fare code of ticket you bought and the fare code of what you need.

Case in point, for our trip to the UK in November, the flight we really wanted was over $100 more per person (for three of us). About a week after booking, they canceled our Minneapolis to Amsterdam and rerouted us from Minneapolis through Memphis and then to Amsterdam. So the result was that we had three flights just to get OUT of the US! We prefered the Memphis to Amsterdam option so when they messed with the tickets, I got them to fly us directly to Memphis rather than via Minneapolis. Saves us 3 hours in travel time . . . and we got the more expensive flight itinerary on top of that! BONUS!!

I only seeing it getting tighter (and worse) with them working to get themselves solvent again. But don't count them out . . . they are still working hard to serve the public.

Yvonne