Fly Low Cost Airlines Travel Information World Wide

Travel Consolidators

A consolidator or bucket shop is a company who buys tickets from the airlines in bulk or carries its own contract with the airlines. They usually get very low fares and higher commissions. This allows them to sell airline tickets at up to 50% less than published fares. Some consolidators sell these tickets only to travel agents while others may sell them to the public as well. Some Consolidators specialize in selling complex itineraries for travel around the world and others specialize in selling a particular destination or region. The value consolidators have to the airlines is that they have the ability to sell empty seats at reduced fares without compromising the perceived value of a published fare ticket. Consolidators are often the best place to look for the cheapest airfares from anywhere to anywhere.

Domestic vs. International Markets

Consolidators and airlines operate in two distinct markets each with its own set of rules and regulations:

(1) The domestic market and
(2) The international market.

International airfares remain regulated by international treaties and by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). The IATA is in effect a cartel for airlines under voluntary membership. The cartel controls high-ticket prices and exists only because of a special exemption granted to them under US anti-trust laws. There are two conditions of membership for airlines in IATA. IATA regulation prohibits member airlines from discounting prices and member airlines all agree to sell tickets only at approved IATA prices. Airlines like the IATA because it keeps prices high.

How can consolidators sell the tickets so inexpensive?

Consolidators are able to sell a discounted ticket because of a major loophole. No international treaties or the IATA restricts how much commission an airline can pay an agent for selling their tickets. The airline pays a much larger commission to the consolidator and the consolidator rebates part of the commission back to the traveler in the form of a discounted ticket. This commission is forbidden by IATA to be rebated back to the customer, but in the name of good old capitalism, it of course, is.

Published Fare vs. Unpublished Fare

All official fares are published in the Official Airline Guides (OAG) or the Air Tariff, or electronically in the computerized reservation system (CRS’s) such as Apollo, Amadeus, Gabriel, Worldspan, and Sabre. It’s hard to find anywhere online, a list of any unpublished or consolidator fares on any international or domestic flights.

Where to find consolidators

Look in the Sunday (or Saturday) travel section of large newspapers like the New York Times (USA), Washington Post (USA), USA Today, National Post (CAN), Montreal Gazette (CAN), The Times (UK), Le Monde (FRA), De Telegraaf (NLD), Frankfurter Allgemeine (GER), De Standaard (BEL) and The Australian (AUS). Many local libraries have these papers and they can also be purchased at local bookstores.

In the United States consolidator hubs are located in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Portland, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Seattle, Boston, Minneapolis, Honolulu and San Diego.

International hubs are located in Australia, Canada, Thailand, Taiwan, Israel, England and Hong Kong.

Few if any websites on the Internet contain a definitive list of consolidators. In the United Kingdom, try Farebase; they offer online prices of major UK consolidators. In the Netherlands try etn.nl. You can also try the Association of Special Fares Agents (ASFA); an international association of discount travel specialists, consolidators and bucket shops from around the world.

The United States Air Consolidators Association is a US based national association for airline consolidators (USACA). This national trade association is for those air consolidator businesses which provide their travel agent customers with integrity, trust and reliability. This is ensured by the requirements that each member transacts at least 10 million annually in air consolidation in conjunction with scheduled airlines; is incorporated in the United States for at least two years, and has never filed bankruptcy or ceased operation. All USACA members accept credit cards and most wave credit card fees that some consolidators charge.

For complex round the world trips, you sometimes may have to deal with consolidators in cities like Paris, Moscow and Manila. In any case, always deal only with accredited agencies by the International Airline Travel Agents Network (IATAN) and in the United States, the Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC).

The airlines now have auto cancellation software for duplicate reservations. Don’t make a reservation with the airline directly and then try to get a consolidator to book another reservation for you at a better price. If you have made a reservation on your own, always tell the consolidator about the previous reservation.

Be sure that you request a NET fare. The consolidator will then quote you a price and inform you of any additional taxes due. Shop around; do not just stop at the first quote you get. Try several consolidators and shop for the best NET fare.

Many people have raised obvious concerns about Consolidators. To protect yourself:

Give yourself enough time - if the transaction is unsuccessful, you can still buy the ticket in a more traditional way.
Pay for your ticket by credit card - if there is a problem, you can delay or halt credit card payments until the problem is resolved.
Finally, contact the Better Business Bureau, in the area where the consolidator is located for a reliability report before making a purchasing decision.

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