Page 30 - Sphere No.7 (Oct 2002)

E - C O M M E R C E
B ook yourself an air-ticket
through Priceline,” said the
editor. “Find out how
it works.”
To anyone who has already purchased
something online, this may sound like
the simplest of assignments. To me, and
indeed to the vast majority of us in Asia
who lag behind Americans and
Europeans in e-commerce transactions,
it was a bold step into the unknown.
Would I be able to follow the price-
line.com.hk website instructions correct-
ly? Was it wise to give out a credit card
number on the Internet? Would I
receive a ticket in my hands or would it
reside somewhere in cyberspace?
The questions didn’t stop there.
What exactly does it mean to “bid” for
your ticket, or as Priceline puts it:
“NameYour Own Price” to save? And at
what cost could I discount up to a third
from the “market price”? Would it
require a 2am departure and 11pm
arrival – perhaps, aboard a dangerous
airline, inclusive of a nine-hour stopover
in some unwholesome airport in the
middle of nowhere?
There had to be a catch.
Yet the prospect of significant sav-
ings was a welcome novelty – especially
out of Hong Kong, where flights today
are among the priciest in the world.
Priceline’s widely advertised promise to
“empower” the long-suffering public
with more affordable travel seemed
worth the effort of venturing into this
revolutionary ticket-purchasing service.
How do you start? First, Priceline
strongly encourages customers to “do
your research”. Establish how much you
would pay elsewhere before submitting
your offer for a ticket or hotel room, rec-
ommended at around 20-30% below the
average price.
The second golden rule for acquir-
ing rock-bottom prices is also obvious:
fly off-peak, which for regional destina-
tions means avoiding the weekend rush
hours. For the very best bargains, focus
your travelling time on weekdays.
The final key for the bargain-hunter
is flexibility. If you’re not fussy about pre-
cise travel dates, choose several, and
you’re maximising your chances of being
on to a serious winner.
My schedule, however, only permit-
ted a Thursday-Sunday long weekend,
which in Priceline terms meant possi-
bly greatly reducing my chance of a big
discount. A peak holiday season depar-
ture on August 1 did not help much
either. Priceline was being put to a
tough test!
The destination was Bangkok, which
coincidentally has also proved to be the
most popular choice for Priceline cus-
tomers since the service was launched a
few months ago.This may or may not be
related to the abundance of fine golf
courses around the city, which was my
personal objective.
Research was simple. My trusty trav-
el agency of many years quoted
HK$2,943 (including HK$160 tax)
aboard Cathay Pacific, HK$2,560 on
FLIGHTS
OF FANCY
Since the launch of Priceline.com in Asia, frequent flyers have
been getting what they bargained for.
By Tim Metcalfe
PRICELINE (4)