Hey gang, my family and I are hoping to hop on a plane to visit my husband's family in Atlanta in October. I have been jumping around to all of the discount online ticket vendors and have found Orbitz to be the most reasonable. My questions are these-

Should I check with a travel agency as well or are they likely to be higher priced due to needing to build in commision?

Also, my dh has a prosthetic leg so we will need shuttling from one terminal to the other at record speed in Detroit. I didn't see an option to request that service through Orbitz- is that done after purchase or is that only done through an agent?

And can we choose our seats so we are atleast near each other? Couldn't find that option either- but maybe that isn't availale until closer to departure? I would hate for my 7yo to have to sit without me or her dad beside her.

Thanks so much for any advice!

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Hi Laurie! I can't answer your travel agent question, but I can help with the seating problems: my parents, who both can't walk long distances, flew from the Gulf Coast to my home in Florida. I wanted them to have wheelchairs available at the airports (they don't use any at home), so I called the airline (AirTran, wonderful airline by the way) to make arrangements. This is how they helped: my brother who dropped them off at their local airport was able to get a special gate pass to go with them to the gate itself, not just the security checkpoint. When they got to the ticket counter, airline employees met them with wheelchairs to take them to the gate. When they arrived in Atlanta to change planes, the flight attendants told them to remain on board and someone would get them into wheelchairs and take them to the next gate. Then, when they arrived in Orlando, they were taken off the plane in wheelchairs. The employees brought them to the baggage claim, but I had also gotten a special gate pass to meet them at the gate. The same setup applied for the return trip.

As far as sitting next to each other, I've never had a problem with this. I guess travel comanies figure if you're buying 3 tickets, you want them all together.

But I'll be honest, if you've got a special needs situation, I'd call the airline to speak to a customer service person. When I called, I told them the price I found on their website and they made sure I paid that amount. Actually, I got a cheaper rate over the phone - sometimes speaking with a real person is better because you can work out the best rate if your travel days are flexible.

We had fantastic service from AirTran, cheap tickets and great people working for them. My mom said they had the best coffee of any airline she's flown, if that helps any!

Hope you have a great trip!

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Daisy

I think that after you make your reservation through whatever online travel agent, you can call the airline to request transportation between gates. I think that's their sort of service, so you'll probably have to talk to them directly. Also, when I've purchased tickets online, usually somewhere in the purchasing process they ask you to choose your seats. If not, call the airline and be sure to set up specific seats. You should be able to get seats together this far out without any trouble and really you should do that.

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Meredith Fenwick

*avatar by the fabulous Dawn aka hunibuni! Thank you!

I can answer the travel agent question since my husband is in outside sales for a travel agency. Travel agents no longer make commission on airline tickets- therefore, some will not book them anymore unless it's with a "package". So- If they do book them, they are likely to charge an "upcharge" because it does take time to search throught all the flights for the right one. You are better off booking through the interent- I like cheapair.com. Hope that helps.

The last time I called an agent (several years ago) they told me that they couldn't get anywhere near as good of a price as I could find online. I've always done great though using orbitz, expedia, etc, although the last time, I checked each carrier's (AirTran, American, etc) website, and found the very best price on their site, rather than on orbitz.

last time we booked a flight, we did it online and we could pick the seats when we booked. we could even see where the emergency exits were. but i don't fly if i can help it and i'm not sure where we booked from, husband did it. i just put my 2 cents in as to how long of a layover i was willing to have.

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