Cheapest Flights? Expedia vs Orbitz vs Travelocity vs Cheaptickets.com
You should always get multiple quotations from different airlines and online travel agents in your quest to find the cheapest flight. There can often be considerable variation in airfares between travel service providers and agents such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. |
Let's run a quick test and compare flight prices for various routes for a 2 week economy class return in 2008. We will check fares on Expedia, Orbitz, Cheaptickets.com, Travelocity and also double check the aggregators Kayak and Farecast. All prices are in US dollars.
1. New York City to London
| Expedia | $503 (American Airlines) |
| Orbitz | $509 (AA) |
| Travelocity | $508 (AA) |
| Cheaptickets | $504 (AA) |
| Comments | Fares are pretty similar. Farecast found a $498 fare direct from AA's website. |
2. Los Angeles to Hong Kong
| Expedia | $683 (Asiana) |
| Orbitz | $509 (Asiana) |
| Travelocity | $823 (Northwest) |
| Cheaptickets | $505 (Asiana) |
| Comments | Fares vary widely with excellent deals on Orbitz and the $4 cheaper Cheaptickets. |
3. Amsterdam to Cape Town
| Expedia | $1,156 (British Airways / Iberia) |
| Orbitz | $1,104 (Lufthansa / South African) |
| Travelocity | $1,613 (Lufthansa) |
| Cheaptickets | $1,000 (Lufthansa / South African) |
| Comments | Again Orbitz and Cheaptickets come up with the best deals. Travelocity significantly more expensive. |
4. London to Cairo
| Expedia | $488 (KLM) |
| Orbitz | $640 (Alitalia) |
| Travelocity | No Fare Available |
| Cheaptickets | $636 (Alitalia) |
| Comments | Expedia comes up with a very good fare. |
The aggregators are useful because many times it can be slightly cheaper to book directly on the airline website. Also by booking directly it will be easier to manage your booking and make any changes. Don't forget to check the rules and restrictions on your airfare tariff.
5. Miami to San Francisco
| Expedia | $320 (American Airlines) |
| Orbitz | $321 (AA / Continental) |
| Travelocity | $336 (AA) |
| Cheaptickets | $319 (AA / CO) |
| Comments | Domestic US fares are quite similar. |
6. New York City to Buenos Aires
| Expedia | $901 (Delta) |
| Orbitz | $835 (Delta) |
| Travelocity | $890 (AA) |
| Cheaptickets | $886 (AA) |
| Comments | This time Orbitz comes out cheaper, even more so than Cheaptickets. |
7. Sydney to Singapore
| Expedia | $994 (Qantas QF) |
| Orbitz | $1000 (QF) |
| Travelocity | $993 (QF) |
| Cheaptickets | $996 (QF) |
| Comments | Farecast refers to a $989 fare directly on the Qantas website. |
8. Paris to Bangkok
| Expedia | $1,004 (Gulf Air) |
| Orbitz | $1,210 (Lufthansa / Swiss) |
| Travelocity | $1,211 (Lufthansa) |
| Cheaptickets | $1,206 (Lufthansa / Swiss) |
| Comments | Expedia comes up with a fare $200 lower than the others. |
Note that this is by no means a complete test - you would need to check a huge amount of flight price data to get a statistically significant result.
However this short experiment does illustrate that there can be differences of hundreds of dollars in airfares amongst agents. This is primarily due to the above agents using different mainframe systems - each will be biased towards various airlines and alliances.
So the golden rule is always do your homework and shop around to get the cheapest flight. Don't just get quotes from the major agents. Also check the airlines themselves and some flight consolidators. The more legwork you put into your flight search, the more likely you will find a lower fare.
If you want some great insider secrets and strategies for getting into the first class cabin on a budget, maximising your upgrade chances and reducing your airfare massively then see our Ultimate Airfares & Upgrades Guide. The guide also lists the some of the most useful websites worldwide to help you find the very lowest airfare.
Air Travel Articles & Resources > General Flying Tips > Expedia v Orbitz v Travelocity v CheapTickets