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Each major carrier and low-cost airline has its own Web site, which you can easily access through any search engine (also refer to Appendixes A–D). Three key benefits to booking on an airline Web site are:

1. Some sites offer frequent flyer miles for purchasing at their sites.
2. Airlines are typically more customer friendly when it comes to making changes if the ticket was purchased direct from them rather than a travel agent.
3. You will be able to access all flights offered by an airline to your desired destination versus just select offerings at independent travel Web sites.

If you can find a better fare at a retail site or consolidator, however, you will have to decide whether these advantages outweigh the lower price. In general, proprietary airline sites are user friendly and provide information about specials such as:
_ Discounts that may be time sensitive
_ Vacation packages
_ Frequent flyer promotions
_ New routes
Notwithstanding, we strongly recommend that you check out prices at supplier-neutral retail travel agency sites, such as Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, or Travelocity.com, as they are less likely to be biased in their presentation of information.

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