News in brief

From Tribune news services
Published June 10, 2007

OBSESSIVE/COMPULSIVE WEB SITE: Bought an airline ticket and been obsessively checking to see if the price has dropped? Don't bother: A new Web site called Yapta will monitor your flight and e-mail you about any price decreases. If you've bought a refundable ticket, claim the difference from the airline.

Most airlines will allow you to do the same for a so-called non-refundable ticket, but most will first deduct a change fee, generally $35 to $100 on a domestic ticket.

The new site can also be useful in tracking prices before you buy. Go to www.yapta.com to download a free program. Then, while shopping at Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity or most U.S. airline Web sites, you can mark any flights of interest. Yapta will watch the flights you indicate and e-mail you if the price drops.

Other Web sites also track the prices of flights to a given destination. But Yapta is distinctive because it tracks specific flights, as opposed to just fares between particular cities.