The mixing link between consumers and low-fare carriers

Independence AIR, another entry in the low-fare-carrier derby, has taken to the skies, serving 35 East Coast and Midwest destinations from its hub at Washington Dulles and gearing up for West Coast service (location to be named later) in the fall. Like many of its low-fare brethren, it is looking to the Web to help it keep fares low.

Its goal is to have the highest percentage in the industry of consumers booking directly at its website, www.flyi.com, said Rick DeLisi, a spokesman for Independence Air, because distribution costs are lower than through traditional third-party online agencies such as Expedia or Travelocity. “All of those other common sites are part of the GDS [Global Distribution Systems for airlines reservations], and that just requires additional cost that we believe would have resulted in higher fares,” DeLisi said.

Independence Air joins other low-fare airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue whose fares can be booked online only on their sites. How then does a consumer find these fares without having to shop each of their sites?

That’s where SideStep (www.sidestep.com) comes in. It is not yet one-stop shopping, but SideStep is, as the name implies, a step in searching the Web for deals. It’s a tool that travelers in the know have been using for nearly four years.

“Our core customers are avid travelers,” said Phil Carpenter, vice president of marketing for SideStep. “They take six to seven flights per year and are serious do-it-yourselfers.”

SideStep is not a booking engine but a search engine, a sort of Google for travel. Its free software program must be downloaded, but it’s easy to use. SideStep then searches other websites for airfares, hotel rates or rental cars.

If it finds a deal you like, you usually are connected directly to the site offering the deal. There is no fee for SideStep, though there may be booking fees at the sites to which you are directed. (Commonly there are booking fees at third-party sites but not at supplier sites, though every one varies.) Because SideStep can send consumers directly to supplier sites, low-fare airlines have embraced it.

“They deliver the customer to jetblue.com, where the transaction is completed,” said Todd Burke, a spokesman for the airline. “This is in keeping with our ‘consumer direct’ model.”

SideStep searches dozens of websites, including JetBlue, Southwest and Independence Air, as well as Orbitz, InterContinental Hotels and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. (Expedia and Travelocity are not searched.)

Because travel suppliers often reserve their best prices for their own websites, consumers can find deals that otherwise might take hours of searching through numerous websites.

I compared Orbitz and SideStep using a flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas at midweek with a three-week advance purchase. (These fares may no longer be available.)

Orbitz displayed three flights from LAX starting at $82 on United, US Airways and American. All fares included Orbitz’s $6 booking fee. SideStep found six fares starting at $76 on US Airways, Southwest and Aloha (out of Burbank); the $82 fares on United and American; and a $95 fare on JetBlue (out of Long Beach).

Some caveats: SideStep comes back with only four search results for each airline, so you may not see every available flight. Also, SideStep does not have agreements with every travel supplier. For example, the $82 SideStep fare was through Orbitz. By going directly to the United or American site, you could save the $6 Orbitz fee.

Contact James Gilden at www.theinternettraveler.com.