New Resource for Self-Helpers

Given the staggering growth of the World Wide Web as a source for travel information and entertainment, any outfit that trumpets itself as “the most powerful one-stop travel site on the Net” is gunning for skepticism.

Travelocity (https://www.travelocity.com), a travel service that combines online airline reservations with destination background, event and hotel listings, travel merchandise and discussion groups, doesn’t live up to its exalted billing. But the site, launched last month by SABRE Interactive and Worldview Systems Corp., shows considerable promise as a resource for its target audience of do-it-yourself travelers.

Most of the buzz revolves around Travelocity’s version of easySABRE, the 11-year-old consumer offshoot of SABRE, an airline computer reservations system geared to travel agents. Now used by about 2 million subscribers to America Online, CompuServe and other online services, easySABRE has earned the nickname “not-so-easySABRE” for its often-cumbersome approach to tracking down fares and schedules for more than 370 airlines.

Travelocity’s Web site provides the same information, but in a more streamlined format. For example, Travelocity users can click on “3 Best Itineraries” to find flights ranked according to criteria (price, time, favorite airline and nonstop availability) they select. That function is available on other versions of easySABRE, but users have to navigate through several extra screens to obtain it. Travelers must submit a credit card number to make a reservation and order a ticket (which can be delivered free overnight or ticketed through a SABRE-affiliated travel agent), but a credit card isn’t required to browse.

“For new users, Travelocity has a prettier face than easySABRE,” says frequent traveler John Levine, author of “Internet for Dummies” (IDG Books, $19.95).

But, he adds, Travelocity is “very much a work in progress . . . I’ve found that if you try to do complex itineraries, chances are you’ll wind up with a screen full of error messages.” (For Levine’s savvy look at the pros and cons of other online reservation systems, check out his new Web site at (https://iecc.com/airline/airinfo.html).

What’s more, Travelocity’s reservations component--like other online competitors--doesn’t supply information about such low-cost alternatives as consolidator and charter tickets, start-up carriers that don’t participate in reservations systems, or tour packages. Another drawback: Travelocity users can’t make online reservations with the 50 rental-car companies and more than 28,000 hotels listed in easySABRE’s reservation system. That access should be available by the end of the year.

Aside from the reservations system, Travelocity’s chief appeal is its time-sensitive destination information. Users can search by key word, phrase, destination or interest, drawing from the same extensive database that Fodor’s Worldview uses for customized travel guides already available for a fee through online services and the Web.

For example, travelers headed to Paris with their kids could click on “Children” under Travelocity’s “Things to Do” heading, then type in “Paris and France.” Voila: A listing of 18 services and attractions in Paris.

But while Travelocity claims to be an “insider’s guide to thousands of destinations worldwide,” detailed information is limited to about 160 metropolitan areas. The rest of the database, including Africa and the South Pacific, is largely limited to listings of hotels--without prices. One of Travelocity’s more intriguing features is the “Travel Merchandise” category, which includes selected items from Magellan’s, a well-known catalog of travel gear and gadgets. Shoppers can browse through photos and descriptions, and order online--with a few Internet-only discounts thrown in.

The ability to order a leather travel documents wallet for $10 off the catalog price may not be reason enough to visit Travelocity. But as the site beefs up its content and smooths out the initial bugs, it should be a worthy destination.

Bly welcomes reader comments; her e-mail address is Laura.Bly@latimes.com. Electronic Explorer appears monthly.