Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com are they trustworthy?

[iGuest 3]

Airfare.com: To Be AvoidedAirfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

I recently purchased two nonstop international tickets from airfare.Com. What a mistake.Approximately a month after the purchase, I contacted the airline for seating assignments. However, as the flight information I had been given by airfare.Com did not match an existing flight, I could not be assigned seats. The airline advised me to contact airfare.Com.When I reached them, I was told that the airline had changed the flight and that they would re-book me on a flight with a stop and a plane change. I explained that I had purchased a nonstop; had I wanted a stop and a plane change, I would not have gone through them. I asked why they had not informed me of a change earlier. What would have happened had I simply gone to the airport on the day of the flight? I would have had no flight at all.I explained that in view of the change, I wanted a refund. They said that might be possible; I was transferred to another employee (with the sort of holds and language issues that others have discussed). She took a different line--the tickets were non-refundable. Period.I replied that buying one item and receiving another was not ethical. The discussion grew heated but not profane. It ended when she hung up on me. A subsequent email to airfare.Com was never replied to.In sum, airfare.Com can provide low rates; however, airfare.Com and "customer service" is an oxymoron. Never have I dealt with travel industry people so entirely rude and aggressive. Their approach to customer service is like none I had experienced before in the United States.My credit card company (whose fraud division I contacted) noted that the original charge had been made to my card not by airfare.Com but by the airline. I contacted them; they explained that the original flight had been cancelled, but the same airline had a nonstop flight several hours later. As the reschedule involved more than an hour, if I wished, they would refund the ticket price in full. As the rescheduled time did not work for me, I requested a refund. I have received it. With no help, of course, from airfare.Com.Avoid the surprises; avoid the stress; avoid the time on the phone. Avoid airfare.Com

-reply by Stuart

 

[zakaluka 0]

I have used Orbitz for booking quite a lot of flights, and overall, as long as you are a smart consumer and do your research on the various airlines, fees, etc., you will be fine. The customer service is quite good (at least within the US), tickets are sent to you instantly via e-mail. No need for anything else.Never visited airfare.com or novatravel.com, so can't really comment on them.Regards,z.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

I've heard many bad things about Orbitz....And I think Maddox(maddox.xmission.com) has an article about them and their ways of screwing over companies.As for the other two I've never heard of them or seen advertisements from them before.Orbitz is really the only hugely advertised flight agency, and I think even if some people have issues it should be expected. Imagine seeing 10k people mad at them, but them having millions of customers a year. That turns the large(10k) number of people into a very small one.

[iGuest 3]

airfare.comAirfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.comReplying to iGuestThese guys are really bad. Hung up on me two times while trying to figure out seat assignments. They are based in India and one of the agents I could barely understand. Do NOT use these guys. I travel 3-4 times a year overseas and these guys are the worst...-reply by craig

[iGuest 3]

do not make you reservations with airfare.com!Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.comI would not recommend to anyone making their reservations with airfare.Com. We booked our tickets from Detroit to Italy (Detroit ? Rome, Malan ? Detroit) well in advance. It was the most screwed up reservation I?ve ever seen and it was definitely not worth the money we saved. Few weeks after we booked the tickets, we received an e-mail from airfare.Com with our itinerary where some of our flights were listed as unconfirmed. I had to call them several times until I was finally connected to someone who explained to me in broken English that AirOne cancelled the flight from Milan to Chicago and told me that we have to fly to and from Rome now. I insisted on our original itinerary because we already planned our trip. I guess that was my mistake. They changed our reservation countless number of times after that. Finally I got nervous and called the airlines directly. Neither Northwest, nor Alitalia could find our reservations at first. It took several calls to rude and incompetent customer service at airfare.Com to identify the reference numbers that airlines recognized. Finally I was able to confirm the Northwest and Alitalia parts of our trip, but not the AirOne. Customer service for this airline in the US is not existent. They list an 800 customer support number with the wrong number of digits in their web site! But this was only beginning. When we got to the airport we discovered that our reservations were changed again and some legs of the trip were cancelled. I did not realize that was even possible. On the way back they would not check us in all the way. We had to wait in a long line at the Alitalia transfer desk in Rome and beg them to give us seats on our flight, and were told that they had only two seats (we needed three). I can go on and on, but the bottom line is DO NOT BOOK YOUR FLIGHT WITH AIRFARE.COM! It is not worth the savings!

[iGuest 3]

AVOID BUYING FROM AIRFARE.COM!!Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.comI wish I had read up on airfare.Com before using them. There was a glitch in their site just as I was confirming my ticket, and well that little glich opted to change my return flight back home. I noticed it when I got my itinerary emailed to me and called the agency immediately that same evening. The rep spoke limited English and I had to repeat myself; I finally asked for his supervisor who was nice enough. He asked me to call back in the am, which I did. Holy hell...The guy who took the call was a complete jerk..He was rude, talked over me and then started to yell at me, telling me that's what I had booked. Truly, the minimal amount of savings isn't worth the hassle of going through airfare.Com. I would strongly recommend not going through them at all...Oh and by the way, who knew your credit card companies would help you fight for such bad service even when it comes to dealing with a ticket bought online.-reply by RCAS

[iGuest 3]

dont book with them Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

hi don't book with that company airfare don't nah cheap

the price will change that company is run by 1guy he say he the onwer and the supervisor and everything and he charge more than what he suppost to.

so don't be like me and please don't waste your time with airfare

-reply by pucky

 

[iGuest 3]

Nova travel no goodAirfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

Don?t buy a flight ticket from nova travels. They are cheating flight ticket buy process the people and also while comes refund ticket, it is very pain in neck. Don?t ever buy ticket from this nova travels.

-feedback by raman

 

[iGuest 3]

airfare.com should be shutdown, gross incompetence and greed, or outright fraud?Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

airfare.Com should be shut down.  They appear to be a fraudulent site, and you won't know if you have a ticket until (if) you get on thePlane.  I used them to buy a 1-way usa to europe ticket because it isHard finding such a thing at less than the roundtrip price fromAirlines or the more well known travel sites.  My too brief search onThem turned up a few complaints about difficulty getting flightsChanged after purchase, but I wasn't worried about that possibility,And they've been around awhile, so it seemed ok, but...The online credit card purchase seemed to go ok, but then I wasAbsolutely horrified when just after purchase I got a bizarre emailFrom domain echosign.Com.  The email demanded that I print out an"authorization form", fill in all of my credit card info on this form,Photocopy my passport and credit card, and fax it back to them.Obviously, no legitimate and competent company would make such an absurdAnd dangerous request, so I thought either that I had bought from aPhony travel site, or that I was a victim of a hacker who had snoopedThe transaction and sent a targeted phishing email to get my creditCard number (which would have been encrypted at purchase) and passportFor identity theft.  Then came another apparent phishing fraudAttempt-- an email apparently from the airfare.Com domain asking me to"verify my card with Visa's or MasterCard's secure code programs",With a link to click in the email.  I didn't click on it because thatWould be completely stupid and I've never heard of a legitimateCompany making such requests.  This email shows all signs of a phisherWho monitored the online transaction and is now making a targetedFraud attempt.  That's now 3 times I am asked to enter the credit cardAnd other personal information.Then I searched for airfare.Com fraud and complaints, and found manyHits, including some from other victims shocked at receiving apparentAttempts at identity theft, but it wasn't clear if these bizarreEmails were coming from the company or from an unrelated third party.I would have immediately canceled the ticket and rebooked throughSomeone else, but it was completely nonrefundable, so that was not anOption, so I had no idea if I had bought a ticket, or if I would haveTo buy another ticket at the last minute at very high expense.  FromOther complaints it was clear that contacting their customer serviceTo ask them anything at all would be completely futile at best, and atWorst risked them canceling my ticket because they did not likeCustomers who complained.I went onto the airline website and checked the booking reference fromAirfare.Com, and all looked ok, and my credit card had been charged.After a few days, the airline site had an electronic ticket numberIssued for me, and I called the airline to select a seat a couple ofWeeks later.  Since all was apparently ok with the airline so far, IWent to the airport not knowing for sure if I would be able to travel.But the ticket was valid, and I got on the flight, despite that IIgnored the ridiculous email requests for enough information toCompletely steal my identity that came from either airfare.Com or aPhisher/hacker.  I suspect I was just very lucky, because they shouldHave voided the transaction when I didn't fax in their forms, orOtherwise why would they have requested them.  And no no no no no noNo, there is absolutely not any clear description of any companyPolicy requiring buyer to fax or otherwise reverify your credit cardAnd personal data after purchase is made.  That is just a pure andBlatant lie that they are making in response to some complaints,Although they could have such a statement buried under clicks and/orFine print in attempt to satisfy an unethical lawyer.  I certainlyWould not try to buy a ticket from them if I knew they were going toMake such retarded requests (where am I going to get a fax machineWhile traveling anyway?)summary: Avoid airfare.Com.  They should be shutdown immediately.They appear to be a fraudulent site, or they are colluding withPhishing fraud hackers by allowing them to continue to monitorTransactions on their site.  What they are doing is unethical andProbably illegal.  You might be able to save money with them if youAre lucky, or you might lose, but you won't know if you even havePurchased a ticket until you are on the plane.  Next time I need a1-way ticket, I'll just buy from the airline, and throw away theReturn.

[iGuest 3]

I bought my ticket only once through Airfare.com and I had a terrible experience, they first confirmed my ticket and then never issued the ticket, without ever tell me. Fortunatelly since I did not completely trust them, I called the airline and found out they never issued the ticket. Their customer service is extremely rude. They offered me a voucher which I have never seen.Definitely do not use this site, there is better out there

Since 1979, Airfare.com parent company has been dedicated to accommodating travelers with top value airfare made possible by discounted airline consolidation. In 1995, we became the first airline discounter to go online. Over this period of time, airfare.com has continually strived to provide world-class customer service and affordable airfare prices. We handle hundreds of thousands reservations a year and have dealt with millions of different transactions since our company has been in business. We are a fully bonded travel company, a verified merchant of authorize.net, an ARC appointed member of ASTA, a member of IATAN, Visa Verified, a member of Master Card Secure Code, Diners Club International, Discover Card Financial Services, American Express, and all bookings are Secured by GeoTrust Secure Socket Layer.

It is Airfare.coms belief that providing world-class customer service is a top priority. We are committed to answering all questions and handling all issues. All of our agents are thoroughly trained to handle all of our travelers needs. In the interest of providing effective and timely service to our travelers, airfare.com does utilize off-shore call center services to supplement our U.S. team. Airfare.com takes customer feedback very seriously and has enacted a major overhaul of the customer service department beginning in July, 2010. Airfare.com is committed to our practice of providing out clients with world class customer service

Airfare.com is a fully bonded travel company that follows all rules/restrictions placed upon us. Our company culture also insists upon exceeding customer expectations by looking for every avenue to assist our customers. If you have any comments, questions and/or concerns please feel free to contact our Special Operations team at feedback@airfare.com. This team is specially dedicated to working diligently to resolve every customer concern.

[iGuest 3]

I've used airfare.com once and will never use them again. We had to cancel our plans and they said they would give us credit for our flight but it's been a year now and their customer service is useless. They always give us the runaround - and thus, we are out $1500. Do yourself a favor and use a reputable online service - not Airfare.com.
-OrangeCounty

Since 1979, Airfare.com parent company has been dedicated to accommodating travelers with top value airfare made possible by discounted airline consolidation. In 1995, we became the first airline discounter to go online. Over this period of time, airfare.com has continually strived to provide world-class customer service and affordable airfare prices. We handle hundreds of thousands reservations a year and have dealt with millions of different transactions since our company has been in business. We are a fully bonded travel company, a verified merchant of authorize.net, an ARC appointed member of ASTA, a member of IATAN, Visa Verified, a member of Master Card Secure Code, Diners Club International, Discover Card Financial Services, American Express, and all bookings are Secured by GeoTrust Secure Socket Layer.

Airfare.com understands that unexpected situations may come up to where your travel plans must be changed; however, we remind all travelers that fees and the difference in airfare are due upon changing your reservation. Airfare.com has no control over the airline ticketing prices. Prior to booking a reservation, the rules and regulations are presented twice for review while entering information and again before proceeding. By booking a reservation our customers have agreed to the rules and regulations of this ticket which again state: Once purchased, these tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE / NON-RE-ROUTABLE. Under absolutely no circumstances will the airline refund these highly discounted airline tickets. Changes are permitted for a change fee, but only if they are made prior to the date of the originally scheduled flight. The tickets you are purchasing are completely NON-CHANGEABLE after the first travel date has passed. You must pay a change fee of $200 per ticket for domestic flights and $350 per ticket for international flights. If the new tickets cost more than the original tickets you must pay the difference. If the new tickets are less than the original, the airline will not credit the difference. Therefore, the total cost will be (The Change Fee) + (The Difference in the Cost of the Tickets). You must travel on the same airline in the same class. Rerouting is not permitted. These are the change rules and regulations that all travelers agree to before booking a reservation. Airfare.com will do our best to accommodate travelers needs , but we will follow the rules and regulations that were presented prior to booking.

It is Airfare.coms belief that providing world-class customer service is a top priority. We are committed to answering all questions and handling all issues. All of our agents are thoroughly trained to handle all of our travelers needs. In the interest of providing effective and timely service to our travelers, airfare.com does utilize off-shore call center services to supplement our U.S. team. Airfare.com takes customer feedback very seriously and has enacted a major overhaul of the customer service department beginning in July, 2010. Airfare.com is committed to our practice of providing out clients with world class customer service.

Airfare.com is a fully bonded travel company that follows all rules/restrictions placed upon us. Our company culture also insists upon exceeding customer expectations by looking for every avenue to assist our customers. If you have any comments, questions and/or concerns please feel free to contact our Special Operations team at feedback@airfare.com. This team is specially dedicated to working diligently to resolve every customer concern.

[iGuest 3]

Airfare.com

Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

 

I have used Airfare services and still regret it. I bought international ticket and was waiting fro Fed Ex delivery (which was suppose to take 2 days)for four days.When I've tried to contact costumer service nobody was available to take my call( even thought it says on their web side that costumer service is 24/7).

 

Finally, after numerous hours on the phone their representative picked up the phone, unfortunately his English was poor and all I understood from the conversation is that they mailed my tickets electronically instead of Fed Ex delivery for which I was charged $15.

 

Our conversation lasted for 30 sec, after then they hang upon me. I tried to call again and again nobody was available. I called next day and the day after somone pick up the phone and put me on a hold for 27min and then hang up on me. I called my credit card company and recalled all my charges. Thanks God it wasn't too late. PLEASE, STAY AWAY from AIRFARE.COM

 

-reply by Anastasiya

 

Since 1979, Airfare.com parent company has been dedicated to accommodating travelers with top value airfare made possible by discounted airline consolidation. In 1995, we became the first airline discounter to go online. Over this period of time, airfare.com has continually strived to provide world-class customer service and affordable airfare prices. We handle hundreds of thousands reservations a year and have dealt with millions of different transactions since our company has been in business. We are a fully bonded travel company, a verified merchant of authorize.net, an ARC appointed member of ASTA, a member of IATAN, Visa Verified, a member of Master Card Secure Code, Diners Club International, Discover Card Financial Services, American Express, and all bookings are Secured by GeoTrust Secure Socket Layer.

 

It is Airfare.coms belief that providing world-class customer service is a top priority. We are committed to answering all questions and handling all issues. All of our agents are thoroughly trained to handle all of our travelers needs. In the interest of providing effective and timely service to our travelers, airfare.com does utilize off-shore call center services to supplement our U.S. team. Airfare.com takes customer feedback very seriously and has enacted a major overhaul of the customer service department beginning in July, 2010. Airfare.com is committed to our practice of providing out clients with world class customer service.

 

Airfare.com is a fully bonded travel company that follows all rules/restrictions placed upon us. Our company culture also insists upon exceeding customer expectations by looking for every avenue to assist our customers. If you have any comments, questions and/or concerns please feel free to contact our Special Operations team at feedback@airfare.com. This team is specially dedicated to working diligently to resolve every customer concern.

[iGuest 3]

airfare.com booked me flights different from what I asked and wanted $700 for the "change"!

Airfare.com, Novatravel.com, Orbitz.com

 

Instead of 2 hours of layover in Frankfurt on the way from Moscow to Seattle for my wife and child they booked a 14 hours overnight layover. Taking into account that Russian citizens need a German visa to get out of the airport to a hotel and that it is a big hassle and expense to obtain German visa (requires a separate trip from our city in the South of Russia to Moscow with a 3 days stay there), this was a horrible experience. And they demanded $700 to for the correction of their screw up!

 

-reply by Stanislav Rumega

 

Since 1979, Airfare.com parent company has been dedicated to accommodating travelers with top value airfare made possible by discounted airline consolidation. In 1995, we became the first airline discounter to go online. Over this period of time, airfare.com has continually strived to provide world-class customer service and affordable airfare prices. We handle hundreds of thousands reservations a year and have dealt with millions of different transactions since our company has been in business. We are a fully bonded travel company, a verified merchant of authorize.net, an ARC appointed member of ASTA, a member of IATAN, Visa Verified, a member of Master Card Secure Code, Diners Club International, Discover Card Financial Services, American Express, and all bookings are Secured by GeoTrust Secure Socket Layer.

 

Airfare.com does not change reservations without the written consent of the traveler. Airlines are constantly updating their systems with new flight times and routing. There are times where notifications are not sent to us. As a result, we cannot notify the passenger of an airline schedule change. When we do receive notification, we make every attempt to advise the passenger about the schedule change by phone and email. Airfare.com will do everything possible to help the traveler find acceptable arrangements, with the ultimate responsibility placed on the airline to give the approval on accommodating the passengers schedule change. Airfare.com strongly recommends travelers to constantly check their reservation with us and the airline.

 

Airfare.com understands that unexpected situations may come up to where your travel plans must be changed; however, we remind all travelers that fees and the difference in airfare are due upon changing your reservation. Airfare.com has no control over the airline ticketing prices. Prior to booking a reservation, the rules and regulations are presented twice for review while entering information and again before proceeding. By booking a reservation our customers have agreed to the rules and regulations of this ticket which again state: Once purchased, these tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE / NON-RE-ROUTABLE. Under absolutely no circumstances will the airline refund these highly discounted airline tickets. Changes are permitted for a change fee, but only if they are made prior to the date of the originally scheduled flight. The tickets you are purchasing are completely NON-CHANGEABLE after the first travel date has passed. You must pay a change fee of $200 per ticket for domestic flights and $350 per ticket for international flights. If the new tickets cost more than the original tickets you must pay the difference. If the new tickets are less than the original, the airline will not credit the difference. Therefore, the total cost will be (The Change Fee) + (The Difference in the Cost of the Tickets). You must travel on the same airline in the same class. Rerouting is not permitted. These are the change rules and regulations that all travelers agree to before booking a reservation. Airfare.com will do our best to accommodate travelers needs , but we will follow the rules and regulations that were presented prior to booking.

 

Airfare.com is a fully bonded travel company that follows all rules/restrictions placed upon us. Our company culture also insists upon exceeding customer expectations by looking for every avenue to assist our customers. If you have any comments, questions and/or concerns please feel free to contact our Special Operations team at feedback@airfare.com. This team is specially dedicated to working diligently to resolve every customer concern.