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Airfare.com is
a leading seller of airline tickets,
both discounted
fares and "consolidator" fares.
Over the last eight years
(including in 2007), Airfare.com has
consistently provided me
with the lowest fare from the USA
to Turkey.
I find that surprising, but so it
is. I've saved hundreds of
dollars on each ticket—thank
goodness!
I don't always start my search at Airfare.com,
but I always seem to end up
there. I could save time by
just going there straightaway and ordering
my ticket!
Airfare.com sells
regular tickets and consolidator tickets. Consolidators are
companies that take a gamble by buying
blocks of airline
seats on various flights at a steep
discount,
then reselling
them to the public at less of a
discount in order to make a profit.
If they don't sell them, they make
take a loss.
Here's how a consolidator
works: an
airline might estimate that it will
have difficulty
filling
a certain flight. It may believe that
it will be unable to sell 50 seats.
So it sells those 50 seats to a consolidator
at a low price and says "You
go see if you can sell those seats." The
airline may put some restrictions on
the consolidator
(most usually, that the consolidator
is not allowed to use the airline's
name in its promotions). But now the
airline has at least some money for
those seats.
The consolidator now has to sell the
seats for at least what it paid for
them in order not to lose money; and
for more than it paid for them in order
to make a profit.
For example, a major airline may sell
a consolidator 50 seats from New
York to Istanbul for
US$400 each. The consolidator may try
to sell them for US$600 each.
If there are not enough buyers,
they may lower the price to US$500
each.
And if there are still no buyers, to
US$400 or even US$300.
Of course, it will be losing money
selling the seats at US$300, but losing
US$300 is better than losing US$400,
so it may have to do it.
On the other hand, if demand for the
flight picks up, the consolidator may
be able to sell the seats for US$700,
making a profit of
US$300 per seat.
It's a game of risk for the consolidator.
What it means for you, the traveler,
is that sometimes consolidator
fares may save you money—perhaps
even a lot of money.
You may have to commit to
buying a ticket before you even know
which airline
you'll be flying on. That's
normal in the consolidator fare business.
But you can often figure
out which airline you'll be flying by comparing
flight dates and times.
If,
for example, you know that "MegaJet
Airlines'" daily flight from New York
to Istanbul departs at 10:10 am and
arrives at 2:13 pm, and if your consolidator
tells
you that your New York-to-Istanbul
flight departs at 10:10 am and arrives
at 2:13 pm, it's a good bet that you'll
be flying on MegaJet.
So check out consolidator
fares on
Airfare.com and see what you find.
Note, however, that Airfare.com
may not include taxes and fees in
the first fare quoted to you! Taxes
and fees may add anywhere from US$50
to US$200 to the fare, so the
first fare you see may bear little
resemblance
to the final fare you'll pay.
(Wow, that's helpful!) But put up
with this bit of Internet legerdemain:
you'll see the final fare, all fees
included, before you're asked to
commit to
purchasing your ticket. In fact,
they even say "Your credit card will
be charged exactly $xxx.xx," so you
will know precisely what you'll be
paying.
Especially off season, consolidator
fares are a good bet for saving money.
Click
here to get started!
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