Best way to book 7 seats on Expedia or Orbitz? Should I do 2,2,&3 or another way?

[World Gallery]

Thanks to all of the tips, I realized that I will need to book in a different way to possible save money or even get a reservation for 7.

We need New Orleans to Venice, then Barcelona to Copenhagen, then Copenhagen to New Orleans. I have had a crash course over the last few days trying to get all of this figured out and I just got off of the phone with Delta (over an hour with a very patient lady). The end result with Delta, they were not able to book the middle leg from Barcelona to Copenhagen on Spainair. Their price for just NOLA to Vence and Copenhagen to NOLA was more than Expedia with the Spainair.

 

So.. back to Expedia but they do not allow you to book more than 6 tickets on one reservation and we are 7 (with 5 kids ages 11-18).

What is the best way to do this to get the best price but also to make sure we can get on the same flight:

1. Book 3 reservations for 2,2,3?

2. Book 3 peopleand 4 people and try to do this online at the same time with two computers (laptop and reg. computer) to make sure I can get the same flight?

Any help is greatly appreciated. This is so much harder than I thought it would be!

[FlyerTalker]

Their price for just NOLA to Vence and Copenhagen to NOLA was more than Expedia with the Spainair.

Which leads me to believe that you are getting bulk/consolidator tickets from your online agency. Remember....if the price is cheaper than what you would pay with the airline, it's almost certain to not be the same type of ticket.

 

As for specifics for buying from an online agency....trial and error. I don't use them for the reasons mentioned on many threads here in Cruise Air, thus I can't say for certain.

 

Have you tried various methods of purchase? I would think that you would most likely want to have 4 and 3, in that you have two adults. Better to have one on each reservation rather than to have a ticket with just children (which might raise unaccompanied minor issues).

 

Don't be seduced by price alone. Know what you are getting from your online agency.

[World Gallery]

You are so helpful. Thanks. I am still confused. My TA uses Expedia (My TA is at a brick and mortar Expedia Cruises store in my area) or bulk/consolidator tickets. He said he just checks to see what is the lower fare and it is about 50/50.

When I was on the phone with Delta, I had the Expedia page open with the flights and prices in front of meand I told the lady that I had it open and wanted her to check those exact flights I was looking at. She was fine with that. What we were going to do was, I was going to book one flight with her and the rest on Expedia at the same time to get the 7 but she couldn't find a way to get the Spainair flight (it was showing error then when she tried again, it was showiing "no seats") There are seats on that Spainair flight because I see them.

I didn't know there were negative reviews out there on online booking sites. I thought they were just as good. SHould I avoid them and why?

Thanks!

[Globaliser]

What is the best way to do this to get the best price but also to make sure we can get on the same flight:

1. Book 3 reservations for 2,2,3?

2. Book 3 peopleand 4 people and try to do this online at the same time with two computers (laptop and reg. computer) to make sure I can get the same flight?

You're pretty certain to get everyone onto the same flights. It's just a question of what the price will be.

 

Normally, this would be the method:

 

When you've chosen your itinerary, see how many seats are available at that price. You do this by searching over and over again, increasing the number of seats that you want by one on each occasion.

 

When you've found the maximum number of seats available at that price, book that many. Then repeat the same process for whatever price is now being shown.

 

As for the children, any that have reached 12 will almost certainly be paying adult fares and almost certainly permitted to travel unaccompanied (check this with the airline's website). So most of the children will be no different from adults. At the cheapest fares, it's very possible that any under-12s will be fared as adults anyway. But you will have to check this, and adjust the booking combinations to suit. As FlyerTalker says, make sure you're not left with any unaccompanied minors, so book the youngest children with adults.

[Gardyloo]

You know, you can actually phone Expedia and speak to a human. Ask them how to book more seats than the online booking tool allows. Chances are they can do it.

[World Gallery]

You know, you can actually phone Expedia and speak to a human. Ask them how to book more seats than the online booking tool allows. Chances are they can do it.

 

Thanks! I am going to try this also.