ELLIOTT: Almost Overcharged on Expedia

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Almost Overcharged on Expedia
The Travel Troubleshooter · March 27, 2002

Q: I recently tried to book a trip on Expedia's Flight Price Matcher, which is the service where you set your own price, similar to Priceline.com. I was booking airline tickets for a friend who has three kids, ages seven, three, and one. I entered all the correct fields: one adult, two kids, and one infant.

The problem arose when I entered one infant into the computer. Expedia's Flight Price Matcher screen looks just like its regular flight reservations screen; both have four boxes under the section, with the question, "Who is going on this trip?"

However, in its regular flight reservations screen, there is an extra area to specify whether the infant is in a reserved seat or in the adult's lap. Not so with Flight Price Matcher screen. There are no offset choices.

So in my case, Expedia almost charged me for four tickets instead of three. My friend had planned on the infant sitting in her lap. I am just glad that I noticed it in time. Why doesn't Expedia offer a choice for a lap child?

-- David Calhoun

A: That's a great question - and one I put to Expedia. On Flight Price Matcher, the site does call out a reserved seat for an infant, and according to Expedia spokesman Mitch Robinson, "We think that is clear for consumers that this means a paid seat."

I'm not sure I agree. Expedia could further clarify that it means a child not sitting on a parent's lap, which is a small change that would clear up any confusion.

"Your reader does make a good point when comparing it to our regular flight search in that the interface is different," Robinson adds. "We are exploring this with our development team to determine if we can make an adjustment to allow for the 'in lap' option on Flight Price Matcher."

If I understand Robinson correctly, then Expedia intends to fix this bug so that you'll never have to wonder what you're bidding for. So while Expedia believes its interface works well, it concedes that it could work better, and is working on improving its booking mechanism.

I'm very pleased that Expedia got back to you so quickly. Other travel websites take weeks or months to react to customer feedback, but not Expedia. Let me add that this isn't an isolated case of a speedy reaction. On several different occasions, it's responded to a traveler in Internet time, which is something that can't be said for many of its online competitors.

Now, here's a question for you: Why were you using Flight Price Matcher for this kind of itinerary in the first place? You must have known that a trip booked through this Expedia service may require a change of aircraft or airline, and that you have to be flexible on flight times and carriers.

I don't believe Flight Price Matcher should be used when traveling with young children, let alone infants. The money you save just isn't worth the hassle of having to a) either wake up early in the morning or stay up late at night to accommodate Expedia's flight inventory, b) change planes, and c) have no chance (none whatsoever) of a refund. Price Matcher, just like Priceline.com, is for air travelers who can afford to make considerable sacrifices in exchange for a better price.

I'm not opposed to using Priceline.com or Expedia's Flight Price Matcher. As Priceline recently pointed out, after I poked fun at its sometimes-inconvenient itineraries, the flight options aren't that extreme. "Your departure windows are from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.," Priceline.com's Brian Ek reminded me. That's great for adults, but it can be way past bedtime for the little ones.

You're much better off booking a ticket with fewer restrictions for your friend. So are her kids.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. ChrisCrossings appears weekly on this site.