On average, will tickets purchased directly from the airline cost less? Patricia Blanche, owner of La Cañada Flintridge Travel in La Cañada, California, explains, "There's almost too much information...
Patricia Blanche, owner of La Cañada Flintridge Travel in La Cañada, California, explains, "There's almost too much information available out there these days and people are shopping like crazy to get the best value for their money. You see a lot of instances where the end result is that they've only saved themselves a dollar or two and you have to wonder whether all the time they spent on the Internet doing their comparison shopping was really worth it."
"If you're looking for one particular seat," she goes on, "and you have the free time to sit at your computer online 24/7 in the hope that someone, somewhere in the world cancels that seat, maybe it's worth it to you to save an extra $50. For someone like me, I'd rather have a life!"
"The reality," she says, "is that travel agencies and websites all have access to the same information that the airlines are putting out about their fares. In addition, those fares are constantly changing. People who feel that they can do without the middle man - namely, us - have been surprised to discover that a particular fare they found online, in a newspaper ad or through a conversation with an airline ticket agent will already be gone in the time it takes to start entering their information or, in some cases, the amount of time they're put on hold on the phone."
She goes on to explain that there are roughly 350,000 fares available on any given day, each of which comes with different rules and restrictions. "People often assume that if something comes up and they end up not taking the trip, they can simply turn around and request that the carrier give them their money back. You'd be surprised how many of them don't read the conditions - that small print that clearly tells you what you can and can't do."
"The adage that 'you get what you pay for' holds true here, too. If you're trying to do a trip on the cheap, you're not going to get the highest or best treatment. Where this really comes into focus is if you experience a problem while you're on the trip - a lost passport, for instance, or an emergency that keeps you from making your flight. If you booked your tickets through websites such as Orbitz or Expedia, you have to realize that you're pretty much on your own once that ticket has been issued. Sure you saved some money but the one thing it didn't buy you was the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can pick up the phone and call someone who will work on your behalf to make things right again."
Travel agencies, she adds, can often beat what is available because of their contractual commitments with airlines. "For example," she says, "we can buy business class tickets at half the cost and pass them along to our high-end clientele who travel extensively. We benefit because we have satisfied customers and the airlines benefit and are happy because they are building loyalty with business people who have chosen them as their preferred carrier of choice."
