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Why travel search engines suck

April 20, 2010 |

Online travel sites used to be the way to go -- no one wanted to use a travel agent. Things were simpler then. Today it's all different. Consumers increasingly find that they waste too much precious time finding the best flight and identifying the best bottom-line price, writes Computer World.

All of the hidden fees and surcharges complicate matters - and each travel site deals with them differently.

Different search engines have access to different blocks of seats at different prices. To get the best price you have to shop around.

Price the same ticket on three different search engines and you're likely to get three different prices -- and perhaps a fourth if you go to the airline's own Web site. Fees and surcharges vary, and may be added into your price on the initial search results screen -- or you may have to select specific flights and burrow down a screen or two before the bottom-line price is revealed.

Then there's the whole luggage fiasco. A $250 ticket on Southwest is cheaper than a $200 ticket on Delta if you're checking two bags. Southwest doesn't charge for bags; Delta charges $25 for the first and $35 for the second. This factored into our travel agent's thinking when she booked us on Southwest. With the online search engines, figuring that out is your problem.

Of course, none of this factors in the wide variations in surcharges you'll be hit with for a pillow, blanket, advance seat assignment, food, snacks, headphones, Wi-Fi and all of the other garbage airlines try to sell you while you choke on stale air in that cramped little seat.

Get the full story at Computer World

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