Buying plane tickets online: A costly convenience?

[CBC News]

While more of us may be purchasing plane tickets online, one Newfoundland woman discovered the convenience may not always be worth it.
Evelyn Parrott purchased round-trip tickets to Texas for her family, using the online travel site Expedia.
Unfortunately a typo on Evelyn's name rendered her ticket unusable and her small mistake ended up costing thousands to fix.
Read the full story.
According to Ellen Tucker, the Atlantic Canadian chair of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, consumers should know that there is no room for errors when they book online.
"When you book on the internet, and you push that enter button, it's there. It's done," says Tucker.
Do you buy your plane tickets online?
Have you ever made a mistake in an online booking?


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[eh1eh]

When you push the 'enter' button you get a confirmation page. If you went to a travel agent and they misspelled your name and you didn't do your due diligence proofing the form, would the result not be the same?

This is a terror story with no basis in reality.

Whether it is an online form or a form some working stiff filled out for you in an office, the net effect will be the same.

So the moral of the story is, "Proof your internet forms". Every site I've done this on has a confirmation page before you actually 'submit' your order. Read. Read. Read.

 

[FUBAR]

Always check your right. Last time I booked online the site would let me book a seat for my daughter but not pay for it as she was only 8 mths old, the stupid site only accepted ages over two. I had to phone the airline and explain that their website let you book seats but not pay for them which was a bit pointless. When we were checking in another couple had found the same thing but didn't phone and clear it up, they had to hold their baby for the entire 8 hour flight...:-(