Is it often thought that booking with Orbitz, Travelocity, Cheapoair or any other 3rd party site (travel metasearch engine) is the only way to get the best flight deal. Well this is not 100% true and here is why.
First, what is a “travel metasearch engine”? Well simply put, it the same thing searching something in google but for travel. But unlike google, companies like Orbitz, Travelocity, and Cheapoair have direct access to airlines databases. So when you search a flight from point A to point B, the travel metasearch engine looks through all accessible databases and returns specific results based on your search criteria.
So… why are these companies allowed direct access to airlines flight information? Because they are acting as a “reseller” for airlines and when a flight is purchased, the booking company get a commission from the sale. Now, these is nothing wrong with this and is a very common practice… but who’s to say that the available flights and the prices and are listed are not sued to benefit the airline? Say Delta has a flight they need to fill.. maybe that flight will generate first because a fully booked flight is a money making flight. Now, I don’t know this statement to be a 100% fact but more an observation as airlines are a business and a business exists to make money. So something must be happening behind the scenes to make things run smoothly and with a profit.
Let me continue to pick on Orbits (which keep in mind is owned by Expedia)… how can they exist and continue to turn a profit? Lot of traffic! This is due to company size, a long standing company history, catchy marketing jingles and general marketing efforts. They also provide another value to users… the ability to search for a flights within any departure and/or arrival time, price, destination, and airline. Especially as Americans, I feel that we enjoy having someone else do the leg work for us on a task that we perceive as “difficult. The ability for a family of 4 to quickly book the cheapest flight to Florida really has it perks. But here is the kicker… these booking agencies are companies (thus their role is to make money and are public companies with SHAREHOLDERS!) How can you avoid booking with these companies? Its simple… use them as a tool.
Use their years of expertise and business connections to your advantage and let them find flights for you… but do your research.
Here is one last and very IMPORTANT point to remember… Are you flying within the US? Southwest, Frontier, and many other budget airline flights are not offered through Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, Cheaoair or who ever you prefer. This is because the airline have less margin for profits (they are a budget airline for a reason) and when a customer purchased through an agency, they typically provide them a commission on the sale.
Here are some additional steps that you can take to find cheap airline tickets through budget airlines;
Read my blog entry on budget airlines and how to make these work for your travel needs.
I hope this helps! Stay tunes for more travel savings tips.
-Myles
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