Waiting to book ....

[greatam]

When you see L7 Y3 Y2 you know there are x amount of tickets in that fare bucket. You can then pull up the advance purchase information, Maximum Qualifying Miles and when the ticket must be ticket by.

 

 

I just reread this. If what I am reading this time is what I THINK you meant, do you realize consolidator tickets are RARELY purchased in a real time basis from the airline? The agency/consolidator already OWNS the tickets. They are "sitting on a shelf". They airline has already been paid for the tickets long before you ever even think of purchasing that very ticket. This is NOT a REAL TIME purchase.

 

What you are purchasing is NOT coming out of the L7, Y3, Y2 buckets that you might see in Expert Flyer, KVS or other avenues. The consolidator tickets have already been deducted out of the TOTAL amount of tickets that will be sold for any one given flight. Those tickets might be coded LXXXXX which is NOT the same as L7. The L7 you are seeing generally relates to PUBLISHED FARE tickets. Consolidator tickets are "special fares", "web only fares" (although not all web only fares are consolidator tickets), "specially negotiated fares", etc. etc. They are UNPUBLISHED FARES and the only entities that know what the original price and rules are is the airline who sold the ticket and the consolidator/agency who purchased the ticket.

 

I'm done with "school". Keep learning. One of these days it will all fall into place. Good luck. But please do not encourage people to buy on price alone UNLESS they can read the ENTIRE RULES and they realize the downsides to some of those very cheap consolidator tickets. Then if they are fully aware that their vacation could go up in smoke, they can be STUCK someplace they don't want to be and they may have to pay for a VERY expensive walk up ticket to get wherever they are going, they know the risks and can make up their own minds. As Flyertalker always posts, "all airline tickets are not created equal".

[melody hounddog]

Wow! I am learning so much here. Thank you!

 

Would you recommend buying tickets directly from the airline or through a TA?

[CruiserBruce]

Wow! I am learning so much here. Thank you!

 

Would you recommend buying tickets directly from the airline or through a TA?

 

Either is fine- wherever you are comfortable and get the best service and deal.

[travelplus]

I just reread this. If what I am reading this time is what I THINK you meant, do you realize consolidator tickets are RARELY purchased in a real time basis from the airline? The agency/consolidator already OWNS the tickets. They are "sitting on a shelf". They airline has already been paid for the tickets long before you ever even think of purchasing that very ticket. This is NOT a REAL TIME purchase.

 

What you are purchasing is NOT coming out of the L7, Y3, Y2 buckets that you might see in Expert Flyer, KVS or other avenues. The consolidator tickets have already been deducted out of the TOTAL amount of tickets that will be sold for any one given flight. Those tickets might be coded LXXXXX which is NOT the same as L7. The L7 you are seeing generally relates to PUBLISHED FARE tickets. Consolidator tickets are "special fares", "web only fares" (although not all web only fares are consolidator tickets), "specially negotiated fares", etc. etc. They are UNPUBLISHED FARES and the only entities that know what the original price and rules are is the airline who sold the ticket and the consolidator/agency who purchased the ticket.

 

I'm done with "school". Keep learning. One of these days it will all fall into place. Good luck. But please do not encourage people to buy on price alone UNLESS they can read the ENTIRE RULES and they realize the downsides to some of those very cheap consolidator tickets. Then if they are fully aware that their vacation could go up in smoke, they can be STUCK someplace they don't want to be and they may have to pay for a VERY expensive walk up ticket to get wherever they are going, they know the risks and can make up their own minds. As Flyertalker always posts, "all airline tickets are not created equal".

 

Yes I know that some vendors are not Direct Connect meaning their system is not update in real time. Some have Total Access and Answerback. So sometimes when you go to book a fare it looks like its available but in reality its not and it even says in the Terms and Conditions that "in the unlikely event we cannot book you for the same price your credit card will not be charged and we will cancel your itinerary".

 

In our case the fare was available and we are happy with the times and airlines being used. I agree that buying tickets is not always about the price but since we are arriving 5 days before the cruise its not like we're rushing to meet the ship either.

 

In all my years of travel using consolidators, Charter Flights etc, knock on wood nothing has ever happened. The worst was when I volunteered to take the next days's flight and was paid to do so.

 

I always make it a point to be at the airport at least 3.5 hours before a flight ot avoid any problems. Also we pack light and our rule is one suitcase and one carry on per person and we weigh it at home before to make sure it fits within the airline's weight limits.

 

When its available I use online checkin and then proceed to the express bag drop. Also if there was any problem at the 24 hour mark I would be on the phone with the airline to see whats going on.

 

I always reconfirm the flight at the 7 day mark and 48 hour mark to see if there have been schedule changes and enroll for Text Messaging schedule updates.

 

Once I was on an American Airlines flight that was delayed due to weather and the system advised me so I called the airline and they were able to switch me to the next day's flight because the flight would have been arriving so late and it was not worth arriving at SFO at 1:00AM to find a taxi. I just called the Car Service and changed the time to the next day.

 

Luckily the resort we were staying at was not filled so the front desk agent allowed us to stay one extra night for $80 and the rental car agency allowed us to keep the car one day extra for $25 after I told the agent what happened to our flight he was super nice and discounted us.

 

So instead of wasting our time at the airport not knowing what would happen to our flight i was sitting by the pool enjoying the nice weather as our flight was coming in from a place with bad weather.

 

I was glad American called me when it did and I offered the agent to take the flight the next day arriving at our destination at 6:00PM.

 

So it pays to be proactive if you see a schedule change be on the phone and have your options ready to go.

[greatam]

Yes I know that some vendors are not Direct Connect meaning their system is not update in real time. Some have Total Access and Answerback. So sometimes when you go to book a fare it looks like its available but in reality its not and it even says in the Terms and Conditions that "in the unlikely event we cannot book you for the same price your credit card will not be charged and we will cancel your itinerary".

 

 

You JUST KEEP MISSING THE POINT. The MAJORITY of consolidator tickets are NOT purchased in anything close to a "REAL TIME" environment. When you start clicking on one of the consolidator's websites, their computer interfaces are NOT looking at a GDS or the airline booking computers. They are looking at THEIR OWN TICKET SUPPLY (which as I have posted has tickets "sitting on the shelf".)

 

IF there are no tickets ON THE SHELF at the price you chose on the website, they MAY be able to get you a ticket at a slightly different price. BUT those MAY or MAY not be the SAME ticket with the SAME restrictions. And again, UNLESS you can read the ENTIRE fare rules, you truly have NO IDEA what you purchased.

 

It is RARE that Vayama, Mobissimo, Best Fares, AirValues, Cheap Tickets, 800-I FLY EUROPE, etc. etc. is purchasing tickets in a REAL TIME environment. PLEASE do not make that mistake.

 

SO very many think that Choice Air, EZ Air and most consolidators are purchasing tickets INDIVIDUALLY specifically to a passenger's specifications. AIN'T so.

 

I really would like to see the ENTIRE fare rules of some of these tickets you have purchased. I will bet you a domestic plane ticket (I have a LOT of AA miles so it isn't going to cost me much) in first class that you DO NOT have the ENTIRE fare rules regarding tickets you purchased from AirValues, Vayama, etc. etc. I am NOT speaking about T & C's from a company (as you keep posting) or website BS. I mean the ENTIRE 2-4 (or more) pages of fare rules DIRECT from the AIRLINE that are generally available with PUBLISHED fare tickets, include the construction of the fare and are available someplace if you look hard enough.

[greatam]

Remember the old acronym for passengers - SLF. Self Loading Freight.

 

 

It was 3-4 years ago when you, me and Globaliser (what has happened to him??) discussed SLF. STILL have never heard that even this many years later. In my world, still refers to cows, pigs, sheep (well, the sheep may be getting close-LOL) DON'T mean to offend anyone-it was a joke!!!