Added: 01/27/2006 |
Advantages of applying to flight consolidatorsIn essence air flight consolidators enable travelers to compare flight prices across a range of airlines for a particular flight route on at the same time period. This enables travelers to save time and money by comparing a range of airlines simultaneously to determine not only the most cost effective airline, but also the most convenient time to travel and airline to travel from/to where there are several options.The core benefit of using flight consolidators is that you can inevitably find not only the cheapest flight route, but also the most affordable flight at the most convenient time.
As the online travel market has grown over the last decade, so the number of flight consolidators on the net likewise has increased, and is due to eclipse traditional offline travel consolidators within the next two years.
Indeed, the benefit of using online air consolidators is that you are able to not only compare several airlines using one consolidator, but in fact quickly and conveniently compare several flight consolidators' best prices for a particular travel route against one another. As such you are effectively comparing 'the best quote' across a range of 'best airfare' quote providers.
While many online air travel consolidators may offer the same flight routes by the same airline, the relationship and deals that they have which airline will inevitably vary, as such one consolidator will be able to quote a far more cost effective price on the same flight as another airline.
There are three main types of airfare consolidators: destination specialists, wholesale consolidators and online travel consolidators.
Destination specialists are specializing in a particular region. These consolidators are able to negotiate strong discounts for flights to particular destinations. Usually, these type of consolidators often cross sell their flights as packages with hotel and/or car hire to maximize their commissions, and often use the flight as a loss leader. Naturally, as they tend to send a high volume of travelers on particular routes with their chosen airline partners they are able to get great deals on flights to particular destinations.
Wholesale consolidators operate huge volumes of sales on extremely low margins to a wide range of travel agents. By bringing together a range of travel agents they are able to provide best airfares for thousands of travellers and thus negotiate stronger airfare rates than a single travel agent could negotiate. It is rare that such consolidators ever sell air tickets directly to the public as their margins are unable to accommodate customer service on a large scale.
The internet is arguably the best place to find the cheapest airfares nowadays. While they lack the attention and service of a traditional travel agent, the ease of price comparison cannot be beaten. Online travel consolidators tend to be able to undercut traditional agents simply because, they can afford to market to a wider audience online to attract more customers and can cut their overheads by avoiding the expensive high-street rents that travel agents must absorb.
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