Probably most of the ads you see these days for heavily discounted business and first-class travel are from agencies that sell discounted consolidator tickets. Consolidators are wholesale agencies that arrange contracts with individual airlines to sell tickets at less than published prices. Consolidators arrange ticket discounts in all classes, not just business and first, although they can typically offer much bigger discounts on business and first-class tickets than in the economy.
why should someone use a travel agent? It’s true that anyone can look up fares on Google, but these are published fares. The unpublished fares are just one of the many benefits that only a travel agent can provide.
What are the benefits of working with a consolidator?
A consolidator can give you the best ticket prices for your clients. In the end, your clients will be happy with the service you provide, and they will continue to buy from you, not your competition.
How do I know that I am dealing with a reputable Airline Consolidator?
We suggest that you work with an airline consolidator who has been providing uninterrupted service as a consolidator to travel Agents/agencies for at least ten years.
Reputable consolidators accept all major credit cards, not just checks.
How home-based agents benefit from an airline consolidator
Airline consolidators give you all the resources. Airline consolidators take measures to ensure members of their staff are multilingual. This can benefit travel agents of any ilk. An agent may not be able to acquire tickets but airline consolidators can negotiate deals.
How small agencies can benefit from an airline consolidator
The greatest advantage that small travel companies can gain by working with airline consolidators is the use of global distribution systems (GDS: Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport, etc.) databases. While many smaller agencies utilize one or two GDS, airline consolidators have access to all of them.
How large agencies can benefit from airline consolidators
Airline consolidators can help these larger agencies in two ways. Airlines may be reluctant to give up more than a certain number of seats at the time.
However, that same airline may be willing to sell those extra five seats to a consolidator — particularly if they have a long-standing relationship. Thus a greater number of tickets will be available to the travel agent.
If your client has a complicated itinerary, an experienced ticketing specialist can quote the ticket in a way that assures that you can present your client with the best price and the best options available.
Knowing how to quote a ticket so that your client is happy and you can earn a good commission should be the main focus of the airline ticket consolidator.
