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Cheap agencies/consolidators


cb140

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I have spent a long time reading all the threads on consolidator fares and the risk of not booking via the airline direct. I do feel I understand these risks and why many people prefer not to take them. However, for me with this particular vacation, price is an extremely important factor. We are flying out four days before the cruise sails, and as regards flying home, it would not be a catastrophe if we were delayed - neither of us have to rush back to work, we have credit cards with high limits (not that we would want to have to use them, but they are there in case of disaster).

 

SO, I have decided that I am happy on this occasion to go with a cheap agency such as Expedia, vayama etc, unless it ends up being pretty much the same price to book via the airline (which in my research so far doesn't seem to be the case).

 

My question is, when it comes to choosing flights, is it worth favoring a flight that has a number of other flights with the same airline and itinerary departing later that day? For example, hypothetically flying, say, AA LHR-EWR-MIA - there are about four flights on that itinerary flying daily,departing about 2-3 hours apart. If I chose the first of those flights, would I be more likely to be accommodated, should there be a problem, on one of the subsequent flights? Obviously no guarantees - the flights may all be full, etc. But would it be a sensible way to at least try to mitigate risk? (the flying out on a Wednesday for a Sunday cruise will hopefully help as well!)

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It is always best to fly early when you have backup options. However, among the myths that need to be destroyed is that if a flight holding, say 250 people, gets canceled, there will obviously and easily be 250 seats available on following flights to accomadate the displaced 250 people. Knowing and understanding that flights go at over 90% capacity should eliminate this myth, but people regularly go with the theory it will be easy to find another seat. Very wrong. It may take days to get you there.

 

Plus, flying on a consolidator flight, you are usually the lowest priority for getting on another flight.

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First of all, AA is having more than its share of troubles right now if that is your airline of choice.

Consolidator fares are often attractive but, as you know, carry a certain amount of risk. Do pay particular attention to your connection times, particularly if booking far in advance of the flights. Are there any nonstop flights, which could lower the risk factor?

You don't give us a date so we don't know if this trip involves winter travel. That's another factor to consider.

Also book a cancellable hotel just in case.

Good luck.

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As you stated, the earlier you fly, the more options you have for a rerouting. But be aware that these reroutings may take you to a whole different route. For example if you where to fly LHR-EWR-MIA, and you are bumped of the EWR-MIA leg, they could give you the option to do EWR-ORD-MIA (just to name a random idea). So it may take a long time to get to your destination as mentioned before.

 

Cancellable hotel isn't necessary. Since you are starting your trip in Europe, European Rights for pax apply. If by the airlines fault, you were to miss a night at the hotel, they need to refund you on that (Do keep all confirmation and payment mails you get just in case)

I don't know if there's a certain 'pax right' thing in the States, but even if you are flying to the states on an American carrier (or any other) and you have to whole trip on 1 ticket, these rights apply. Of course, I've had it before American gate agents were not aware of this and rejected this whole statement. Just tell them to look it up on the IATA website then ;-)

 

You clearly understood the whole airline thing as you're flying in early. I'm always shivering when I hear people they'll arrive at 9am for the cruise in the afternoon. All in all, you never know what might happen. So, giving yourself sufficient time before the cruise is the best you can do. Way the go on this ;-)

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Plus, flying on a consolidator flight, you are usually the lowest priority for getting on another flight.

 

Exactly. So the OP's hypothetical example.... first flight of the day is cancelled, but there are 3 later flights to put pax on, there are maybe seats to get 20-30 pax accommodated? Just a guess. Guess which 20-30 pax from the cancelled flight will likely be accommodated in those seats? The airline's elite level frequent flyers, pax who paid full fare for a first class ticket, etc. NOT pax flying on a consolidator fare. OP: In that scenario, I will say simply that it's a good thing you're allowing -what was it?- 4 days to get to your destination?

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In cases an airline gets a flight cancelled, they are obligated to move you to the first available flight. Either on their own flight or even on a competitor's flight. However, airlines tend to not like this policy, but be aware of your rights.

 

That may be an European law. Not sure it applies in the US.

 

And whether or not it does apply to US flights, getting on that new flight might take days.

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It does when your tickets includes a leg with a European leg. If this is your starting point, connecting point or final destination doesn't matter, then all European Rights of pax apply.

 

I might be wrong, but I think the US Transportation Board rolled out an improved bill of rights for pax that included this. However, might need to look into it again.

I know rules in the US are extremely different then the ones here in Europe, so please forgive me if I give any non related info that only applies for EU included trips.

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We just booked our second Vayama trip..with our eyes wide open. First was Calgary-Istanbul on KLM. No issues, but we did make sure we travelled early and were aware of the alternatives.

 

Second is Toronto-Rome on BA. Don't anticipate any issues. Lots of flights, and a 3 1/2 hours been flights-in and out of Terminal 5.

 

Both times the flights times/carriers were good and the price was excellent. Price advertised was the price charged...no price increases after we hit the buy button.

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We just booked our second Vayama trip..with our eyes wide open. First was Calgary-Istanbul on KLM. No issues, but we did make sure we travelled early and were aware of the alternatives.

 

Second is Toronto-Rome on BA. Don't anticipate any issues. Lots of flights, and a 3 1/2 hours been flights-in and out of Terminal 5.

 

Both times the flights times/carriers were good and the price was excellent. Price advertised was the price charged...no price increases after we hit the buy button.

 

I'm unfamiliar with travel agencies who charge extra after the flight is purchased...?

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Sites who are based in certain countries just display the basic fare until the moment of paying. Then taxes, booking fees and all other fees are added.

 

Wow, that is naughty! None of the sites I have been to do that, luckily. They do sometimes divide the price so that you can see what the airfare is and what the taxes are (the actual airfare is TINY compared to the taxes - you wonder how they do it for the price.)

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Exactly. So the OP's hypothetical example.... first flight of the day is cancelled, but there are 3 later flights to put pax on, there are maybe seats to get 20-30 pax accommodated? Just a guess. Guess which 20-30 pax from the cancelled flight will likely be accommodated in those seats? The airline's elite level frequent flyers, pax who paid full fare for a first class ticket, etc. NOT pax flying on a consolidator fare. OP: In that scenario, I will say simply that it's a good thing you're allowing -what was it?- 4 days to get to your destination?

 

Yes, four days - although I have to say. I've never *heard* of anyone being stranded in an airport for four days other than during, say, snow or the volcanic ash problems ... but I'm sure it must happen, judging by the dire warnings! If that scenario looked like it was likely to unfold, can you just buy, at the airport, a straightforward from-the-airline ticket to get you where you want to go, even at a high price? Or the other possibility, I suppose, is maybe looking at other ways to get to Florida, like train? (I do know it's a very very long way. But presumably it must be do-able by train, if the alternative was days and days in an airport)?

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It does when your tickets includes a leg with a European leg. If this is your starting point, connecting point or final destination doesn't matter, then all European Rights of pax apply.
Sorry, this is not correct. The European legislation rights apply to:-
  • Passengers travelling on an EU airline to an EU airport
  • Passengers on all airlines travelling from an EU airport

EU has a special meaning because I think in this context it also includes some of the EEA.

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Yes, four days - although I have to say. I've never *heard* of anyone being stranded in an airport for four days other than during, say, snow or the volcanic ash problems ... but I'm sure it must happen, judging by the dire warnings! If that scenario looked like it was likely to unfold, can you just buy, at the airport, a straightforward from-the-airline ticket to get you where you want to go, even at a high price? Or the other possibility, I suppose, is maybe looking at other ways to get to Florida, like train? (I do know it's a very very long way. But presumably it must be do-able by train, if the alternative was days and days in an airport)?

 

There are lots of "dire warnings" on this forum that often never come to reality. A good example is the "tarmac rule" that was put into effect a couple of years ago. There were moans from several regulars on this forum about how passengers would be stranded in airports for days on end once this rule was implemented since airlines would cancel many more flights rather than risk going over the 3 hour tarmac rule. Full flights means no place to put the passengers from the canceled flights, blah, blah, blah.

 

Guess what? Airlines learned how to deal with the situation, be realistic and treat their customers humanely. No stories about people camping out in airports for days on end waiting for a seat. My only regret is that the airlines could not have self-policed themselves well enough in the past to avoid such government regulation.

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So Frugaltravel, where do you put 250 pax from a canceled flight when planes are flying at 90+% full?

 

You have to ask the airlines that. There have been quite a few canceled flights in the past couple of years (but probably not a whole lot more or less than before). Still, I have never seen a story about any passenger being stranded for days on end in an airport because of it. But since you asked, I will give you my answer :)

 

If you figure there are multiple flights a day with each airline between any two city pairs (including connections), the pax get absorbed into the system. 250 passengers (your number) generally means either an international flight or a transcontinental flight. So using your example, JFK-LAX might have 250 pax on any given flight. AA has 9 non-stop flights, DL has 8 non-stop flights, UA has 6 non-stop flights a day on most days. That is 23 non-stop flights. If each flight holds 250 people and is 90% full, that leaves 25 seats on each of 23 flights. So there could be 2 canceled flights a day with little or no disruption. And that is only considering the non-stop flights. All three of those airlines (and others) fly between the two cities with a connection. Sure I am taking a route with lots of flights, but you are taking a passenger number that only large planes can hold. You can figure New York to Des Moines and find similar numbers since the planes are smaller, thus fewer passengers displaced. But frequencies across multiple airlines are relatively high - though CLT with US (even through DCA with a combination of US and another airline), through ATL or DTW or MSP or MEM with DL, through DFW or ORD with AA, through ORD or DEN with UA. Remember how it is touted repeatedly on this forum that a "normal" (i.e. non-consolidator) ticket can be interlined in case of IROPS so endorsing a ticket from one airline to another in the case of a cancellation should be easy, right?

 

Also, the average load factor is under 90% (about 85-87% I believe). So there are more empty seats on average than you might assume.

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Yes, four days - although I have to say. I've never *heard* of anyone being stranded in an airport for four days other than during, say, snow or the volcanic ash problems ... but I'm sure it must happen, judging by the dire warnings! If that scenario looked like it was likely to unfold, can you just buy, at the airport, a straightforward from-the-airline ticket to get you where you want to go, even at a high price? Or the other possibility, I suppose, is maybe looking at other ways to get to Florida, like train? (I do know it's a very very long way. But presumably it must be do-able by train, if the alternative was days and days in an airport)?

 

Look, I'm applauding you for giving yourself 4 days leeway, and no, I don't know of any stories of someone being stranded for 4 days outside of MAJOR events like volcanic ash. But, is it very possible to be stranded for a day or even two due to weather circumstances? Yes, it is. Is it likely? Who knows?! No one predicted the volcanic ash thing but in hindsight people now use it as the quintessential example of how you simply never know what MIGHT happen.

 

 

As for booking a brand new ticket, well, you have the same issues of "are there any available seats?" The airline computer will have already automatically rebooked pax from the cancelled flights into the next available seats, whenever they may be, so "new" tickets would be in short supply. In a MAJOR disruption like you're talking about, like the volcanic ash thing, it could be days before you could buy a ticket at any price. Plus that event closed entire airports and huge areas of airspace; it wasn't as simple as Airline X deciding it was just too snowy to fly a couple of their flights.

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You can also be disrupted in flight even when there is no sign of anything wrong. If there is a major security problem or the air traffic control system goes haywire, you are down on the ground until they let things fly again.

 

We were flying a NONSTOP flight from Detroit to Baltimore when the air traffic control computers for the eastern section failed. We landed in Cleveland Ohio. I was flying with just my purse since it was a 2 hour flight with no stops etc. and I would be home for supper NOT! (I now carry the basics for ALL trips and the phone number and my loyalty numbers for hotel chains) Well over 400 flights were cancelled and like ours could not be completed. Royal mess. We got home 24 hours later than scheduled and to DCA airport not BWI (had to go get the luggage later). Another time BWI had closed due to winter weather but DCA 20 miles south was still open. I knew the rules for Southwest airlines allow you to change without charge so I cancelled that flight to Baltimore and bought more expensive walkup tickets to Washington Dc. So My body was Washington DC, my car was in Baltimore, my luggage was in Jacksonville and my cruiseship was heading to LA for a Panama Canal trip. (Cruise was 3 days later) Thank God this doesn't happen often. The point is that if I had a consolidator or choice air ticket I would not have been given the same set of choices. Cut out all the middle men you can and buy direct. You can never tell when you will have an adventure. :D

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Cut out all the middle men you can and buy direct. You can never tell when you will have an adventure. :D

 

Actually that is probably the main reason to use a travel agent. During major disruptions (like a snowstorm in Washington DC a few years ago and the volcano in Iceland) I had friends stuck. Calls to airlines they were booked on were met with "Our call volume is high, please call back" and they were disconnected. However, when they called their travel agents, both were able to get rebooked and to their destination much faster than if they had waited to talk with the airline. In fact, the friend at IAD had been waiting in line to talk with UA for hours before thinking to call her travel agent, who then had her rebooked shortly thereafter.

 

I am not saying that Choice Air, Vayama, Cheapoair, etc. are the way to go since they don't provide the same level of service as full-service agents. And most agents now charge a service fee. But I know it has been well worth it both for me and others I know when problems arise.

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