All About Consolidators

Wholesale Tickets that are sold on major airlines and are usually for international travel are known in the travel industry as airline consolidation tickets.

In general, flying with one of these tickets is like any other standard ticket, except that it is much less expensive. Why? The large travel conglomerates commit to buying a certain dollar volume of tickets from the airlines and in turn receive low contract rates. These savings are passed on to the consumer.

It is commonly believed that if you wait until the last minute you can get a less expensive ticket when airlines sell off blocks of unsold seats to the travel giants, who sell them for whatever they can get. This is just not true. While it is sometimes possible to get an inexpensive ticket at the last minute, you rarely get a cheaper ticket than if you planned ahead. It may be impossible to get a reasonable rate or even to find any available space at the last minute. The airlines’ historical figures always indicate that a certain percentage of seats will be empty. By “selling” those seats to airline consolidation companies, the airlines increase the odds of a flight being full. The companies bear the burden and expense of the marketing costs of “cheap seats”, which is why the airlines can afford to sell them to the airline conglomerates at such deep discounts.

Purchasing one of these tickets can save you between 10%-70% or more off the airlines’ published retail fares. These tickets usually do not impose all the restrictions that airlines have on advanced purchase fares.

Here are some of the differences between these wholesale tickets and standard retail tickets.

No prices will be printed on the ticket.

If you change your plans and want to change your flights, or have your ticket endorsed and transferred to use on another airline, you may not be able to. Most airlines will not accept consolidator tickets issued on other airlines. However, if the airline cancels the flight, they are bound by law to accommodate you on another flight.

You may not receive frequent flyer miles on consolidator's tickets.

There is usually no advance purchase requirement, whereas nearly all published fares require a 7, 14, or 21 day advance purchase.

These wholesale tickets cannot be purchased directly from an airline. They must be purchased from a travel agency or independent travel associate.

Many wholesale tickets can be canceled after purchase, but before the travel date. There will be stiff penalties though. Most retail fares are now non-refundable.

Most people consider the differences between a consolidator ticket and a retail ticket a small trade-off for the savings they receive. As with any ticket, make sure that you find out all the rules before you purchase the ticket.