Cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket tactics

Part 4 - Things you have to watch out for on consolidators even when getting those cheap airfares tickets

Well, we now know that the smart travellers can invariably find cheaper airfares whether they are cheap coach or cheap business class airfares cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket through the consolidators (who wants to quickly clear off their ticket inventories) especially if the traveller has to buy last minute or cannot spend the weekend Saturday night.

Even then, even if you can buy way in advance from the airlines, you will still find that consolidators can offer you a cheaper cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or first class cheap airline flights ticket because of their bulk purchase discount from the airlines (which they normally pass to the purchasing travellers).

For international travels, consolidators’ fares offer you cheaper cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel in particular to countries where there is less airline competition or they are serviced by a lesser-known national airline company.

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However, note that there are certain limitations and restrictions that you should keep in mind if you are buying from consolidators, even when you know that you will be getting those cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket.  

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For one, note that domestic US tickets purchased from consolidators are almost 90% of the times non-refundable and non-exchangeable – which means that one you paid, you cannot get your money back, and unlike the typical published fare tickets you purchased from the airlines or their agents, you cannot change the date of your travel or your itinerary.

Hence, you may have those cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those premium first class cheap airline flights ticket from a consolidator but you have to make with the restrictions on them. 

Secondly, if you are also using the frequent flyer mileage strategy, there is a drawback with the consolidator’s cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel ticket because sometimes, there may not be eligible for frequent flyer miles.

So always check the rules although each consolidator’s policy may be different.

Typically, there are no frequent flyer miles given for those consolidators’ cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel tickets to Europe while for those elsewhere such as to Asia, those consolidators’ cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those premium first class cheap airline flights tickets may allow them.

As such, you have to weigh the trade-offs of the two strategies – i.e. whether those cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket of the consolidator ticket outweighs the benefits of accumulation of frequent flyer miles for those award tickets, upgrades to first or business class or other fare-saving purposes.

However, in US, most consolidator tickets tend to allow you to accrue frequent flyer miles.

Another important thing to note is that consolidators are not exactly very strong creatures and as such, they are many cases of them (the smaller ones) going out of business given their nature of volume-discount business, especially if demand is volatile during a particular season for those cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel tickets or when extraordinary events happen such as 9/11.

As such, its best that those consolidators’ cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket are not paid by you in cash but by the usage of credit cards.

The drawback is that the consolidator may put a mark-up of around 3% on the ticket cost (even then those consolidators’ cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those premium first class cheap airline flights tickets will be much lower than published fares) but then, that’s just a little insurance of knowing that you could dispute the payment with your credit card company if the consolidator goes bust.

Most of the times, the credit card companies generally refund your money paid especially if the wrongs are not committed by you.

There are several safeguards procedures that you may want to perform as such before you purchase those cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel tickets from consolidators:

Always go to the large ones or to one that is strong and reliable i.e. recommended by independent travel experts or have been around for a substantial period of time.

You don’t want to get a cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those premium first class cheap airline flights ticket when you have paid but later could not get them from a bust consolidator, right?

Check around for independent review on the consolidators (especially if they are Internet-based ones) or whether any complaints have been lodged against them with the Better Business Bureau or other independent bodies)

Ensure that the consolidator who offer those cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket is accredited by, for US consolidators, the Airline Reporting Corporation or ARC and for international consolidators, the International Airline Travel Agent’s Network

Also note that tickets purchased from the airlines direct or regular travel agents enjoy a higher pecking order than those consolidators’ cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel tickets.

When a scheduled flight is cancelled or delay, those holding a consolidator cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those consolidator’s premium first class cheap airline flights ticket may find themselves put behind the list for reassignment to the next flights.

However, if you can’t find cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket from the airlines, its still better to buy the consolidator’s ones because of the vast price differential.

Finally, as with all cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel airfare tickets, always check for any hidden charges such as taxes, consolidators service fees, delivery charges, credit card mark-ups, etc.

Because of the cheaper ticket absolute amount of those issued by the consolidators, these hidden charges (if any) may form a higher % of the total cost of the tickets although you will still find that consolidator tickets still offer you those cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket substantially cheaper than the ones you can purchase from the airlines or other travel agents.

Still, despite the restrictions mentioned above, and even setting aside the main advantage of much cheaper pricing, consolidator tickets have strong plusses.

For one, in contrast with typical excursion, discount, or supersaver fares from the normal airlines tickets, the consolidator cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those consolidator’s premium first class cheap airline flights ticket tend not to have Saturday stay-over requirements, and minimum or maximum stay periods, or advance booking requirements as the former.

This can be a big saving for both the leisure and business traveller.

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Consolidators can also be the best sources for cheap cheap air flights/cheap airfares flights travel tickets when you have little advance notice of your trip.

You can sometimes get discount cheap coach or cheap business class airfares/cheap business class airfare or first class cheap discounte airline ticket from consolidators up until the day of departure.

Airline ticket prices vary according to the travel season. Consolidators are generally your best source for discount international cheap air flights lowest fare airline ticket or even those premium first class cheap airline flights ticket during the peak vacation season, when published airline prices are high.

Though the biggest savings are in the vacation season, the cheapest fares will still be for off season travel.

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