One of my greater joys in life (relative to international travel, of course - ha-ha!) was when I discovered airfare consolidators before my first overseas trip. If you are not familiar with the term, and live in North America, this will be a quick lesson. (These fares are also available in other parts of the world - just get on the Internet. Also, visit the link below as a starting place.)
To quote Consolidators On the Web, “A loose definition : A consolidator is a company who buys tickets from the airlines in bulk, or carries its own contract with the airlines. Consolidators usually get very low fares. Some consolidators sell these tickets only to travel agents while others may sell them directly to the traveler as well.”
So, there you have it! The Internet is a wonderful research tool, and saving a few hundred dollars (USD) is well worth the effort of an hour or two online. My experience has been that the consolidators I’ve used do sell to the traveler. However, while the bulk of those tickets may be sold to travel agents, don’t necessarily expect your particular travel agent (whether it’s an actual person or an online airfare search/booking site) to just volunteer the information that these rates are available.
If working through an actual agent, I’ve found it helpful to mention that I normally just go to a consolidator, and that is the kind of rate I expect. I did this once with a travel agent found in the phone directory - when I had only a short time to search, and was having trouble finding international flights for the dates I needed. The agent came through with the dates I needed, and a lower fare than I had found; but I had mentioned consolidator fares at the beginning, and asked if the agent used them, and passed the savings on to the customer. Now adventure can be more affordable!
If you’re still unsure of anything about your next international travel - and you want it to be cheaper, safer, and more adventurous, get my free “Smart Tips Handbook” available exclusively to Registered Readers! Click the link below.
International Travel Adventure
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:00 pm - Edit
[...] and their agents, access to sell or lease your home. This is also the type of arrangement many airfare consolidators have, in order to control a block of seats at a special rate - so they can offer an even lower fare [...]