Expedia Drops Phone Fee

In an unprecedented move, Expedia has dropped their phone fee, which is great news for those of us with complicated flight booking needs, or those of us who just prefer to actually talk to someone instead of clicking through a website. As of yesterday, the $20 fee to speak with a real, live agent has been dropped completely. This gives Expedia an edge in both customer service and in cost. Not only can you talk to someone live, it's now going to be cheaper to go through Expedia because most airlines charge ridiculous booking fees over the phone.

For example, Virgin America charges $15 per guest per itinerary. Delta charges $20 per person per ticket, and United charges $25 per person, per reservation. This also gives Expedia an advantage over direct competitors like Orbitz and Cheap Tickets because they both charge to the tune of $25 for a booking, and another ridiculous $30-$50 to change or cancel a reservation. Ideally this will spark similar moves across the industry, since no one wants to be labeled as the airline who makes their customers literally pay for customer service. In fact, Expedia should go ahead and roll out a YouTube video that calls out your competitors in that very way. Talk that smack!