Turned off by the Internet ticket game

Arthur Frommer may be a respected travel columnist, but he did a disservice to the traveling public when he recommended Priceline and Hotwire in “Playing the Internet Price Game” [Nov. 2].

The major problem with both services is that one has to give a credit card number before seeing the itinerary of the flight, and upon seeing the itinerary it is impossible to change it.

Several years ago I used Priceline for a flight from Orange County to London.

I quoted a price I wanted to pay. After giving Priceline my credit card number, I was given a price that, after all the fees were tacked on, was less than $10 cheaper than booking with the airline directly.

The worst part, however, was, the itinerary allowed only 30 minutes in the gigantic Houston International Airport between the arrival of my flight and the departure to London. The slightest delay would have made it impossible to catch the flight to London.

Several years later I tried booking through Hotwire, but when I had to give a credit card number before seeing my itinerary I terminated the transaction.

Clifford L. Bundy

Costa Mesa