Study Of Large Travel Web Sites Concludes Consumers Still Need To Compare To Find Best Deals

For Lowest Fares, the Best Choice Is Expedia; For Viable Flight Itineraries, It's Travelocity, Study Finds

YONKERS, N.Y. — The Consumer Reports Travel Letter (CRTL) closely evaluated the six largest independent travel web sites for its June 2002 issue and found that while several sites excel in certain areas, none outshines the others in all aspects of booking.

The CRTL study found that Expedia beat its competitors in providing the greatest number of lowest fares but that Travelocity offered the best array of low fares coupled with viable flight choices. Travelocity also had the best booking tools. Expedia and Travelocity offered the best customer service among the six sites that were examined in the study.

Through its grantors, Consumer Reports WebWatch (CWW) funded the research for Consumer Reports Travel Letter's latest examination of independent airline ticket-booking sites. Consumer Reports WebWatch staff also participated in the research. Consumer Reports WebWatch is a project of Consumers Union, supported by grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society Institute. Consumer Reports and CRTL are published by Consumers Union.

"To get the best fares, you have to comparison shop," said CRTL Editor Bill McGee. "None of the independent travel Web sites we examined outshone the others in all aspects of booking. And the nation's leading low-fare carrier, Southwest Airlines, refuses to display its flight times and prices on any of the independent travel sites."

For its June cover story, CRTL evaluated the six largest integrated sites — Cheap Tickets, Expedia, OneTravel, Orbitz, TravelNow, and Travelocity. CRTL looked at five key factors: ability to provide lowest fares, ability to provide viable flight itineraries that make sense for most travelers, ease of use, customer service, and privacy and security policies.

Orbitz, which is owned by five major airlines, performed well at providing lowest fares and viable flights, but it was edged out in most tests by either Expedia or Travelocity. The technological divide between these three sites and the others — Cheap Tickets, OneTravel, and TravelNow — is so considerable that CRTL cannot recommend the smaller sites at all, unless the consumer is looking for deeply discounted and nonrefundable fares.

The CRTL study also found that it is getting harder to find the best fares through a travel agent. Between 24 and 78 percent of the time, each of the six sites offered prices equal to or lower than those posted in the largest computer reservations system used by travel agents. That's a big change from when CRTL tested travel web sites in October 2000, when the range was between 6 percent and 22 percent.

In conjunction with its work with CRTL, Consumer Reports WebWatch (www.consumerwebwatch.org) on June 6 will publish an in-depth report by Harrell Associates, an independent research firm with extensive experience in airline ticket-booking systems.

The WebWatch report provides consumer tips for getting the most out of airline ticket-booking sites, explaining in detail some of the hidden calculations and transactions that can result in lower or higher fares — or sometimes just plain strange itineraries — for the consumer. In addition, the report analyzes the industry's growth and history, from paper punch-cards to today's sophisticated World Wide Web-based reservation and ticketing systems, revealing the impact of intense competition among airlines on the traveler's wallet.

CWW's mission is to investigate; inform; and improve the credibility of information on the web. The project will accomplish that mission through research, through establishment of guidelines for better information practices on the web to benefit consumers, and through ratings of sites based on their compliance with those guidelines.

Highlights from the CRTL report on travel web sites are included in the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine and are available free online at www.ConsumerReports.org/travel. Complete electronic copies of the June issue of CRTL can also be purchased and downloaded at www.ConsumerReports.org/travel for $3.95; yearly subscriptions online are $29.

Consumer Reports Travel Letter accepts no advertisements and bars the commercial use of its reports. Since 1985, the editors of CRTL have been offering money-saving and time-saving advice for travelers. Each monthly issue is packed with information showing consumers how to find low-priced airfares, scout out affordable hotel accommodations, and find the best deals on cruise vacations. Print subscription rates in the U.S. are $29 for one year and $49 for two years. To subscribe, call (800) 234-1970 or visit www.ConsumerReports.org/travel.

***

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports Travel Letter®, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization that serves only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers. Information and articles from Consumer Reports can be accessed at www.ConsumerReports.org.