just curious in regards web fares vs local travel agents. Do some travel agents have fares that are cheaper then online sites?
Web Fares always cheaper?
turbo77 on 01/12/2013 - 15:54
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Depends on the site really, flight centre will price match sites like webjett but not international ones like chipmunk.
Edit: the price match isnt that great, as they wont give you the same flight, so may offer you a 40 hour flight to Italy when your original one was 22 hours.
The advantage of booking directly with airline is that they have much smaller change of date and cancellation fees. Once you book with web site or travel agency that booking is their booking and they charge big fees to change booking dates. Once you leave Australia then you can make changes with airline diect at cheaper rate. Also need to be aware. of your booking class in Y just in case you want to upgrade, I know that x is non upgradeable. Worth phoning web site to check that out. Good luck. JoyV
Booking classes are different for each airline so make sure you check first.
Generally, the order is direct with (1) airline -> (2) web agent (e.g. Expedia) -> (3) brick and mortar agent (e.g. Flight Centre).
There are times when (1) and (2) can be swapped. (3), Brick and mortar travel agents can be cheaper, but it is very, very dependent on the airline you're interested in. You might find a Philippines Airlines cheaper through a physical agent for example, but when it comes to the the more higher tiered airlines, such as Singapore or Emirates, it's generally quite rare to find a lower quote from an in-store agent.
Note that those agents for airlines like Philippines Airline are generally Chinatown-eque agents, so not your chain travel stores.
I'm not a fan of paying hefty fees to an agent just to click a button (fees they put on top of the airline's own fees for changes and cancellations), so I generally go (1), unless (2) is significantly cheaper.