The recently publicized squabble between airlines—namely American and Delta—and online travel sites such as Expedia and Orbitz may turn into a full-blown war that will once again change the way travel is purchased.
But for international travelers, especially those traveling for ministry or humanitarian purposes, the feud is a reminder that there are pitfalls both to buying directly from the airline and to buying from an online travel site. The two main reasons for this are the lack of discounted contract fares and the complexity of international travel. The alternative is to work with an agency experienced in international travel that offers contract airfares.
At Ministry Travel we have access to rates that are not available to the general public. These are discounted fares that you cannot get from an Internet travel site or even directly from the airline. They are based on specially negotiated contracts that we have with the airlines for missionary and humanitarian travelers. Plus, we are able to shop all the airlines and routings, including those that do not show up in the Internet travel sites, and make recommendations that are in our client’s best interest.
The complexity of international travel, especially when a group of travelers is involved, is best handled by a “live” person who can look at various scenarios and make good recommendations. Sometimes this means suggesting alternate airports to reduce cost or offering alternative airlines and routings to avoid a forced overnight stay while traveling. “Having been in business for more than a decade and arranged travel for tens of thousands of people to every corner of the earth, we know the right questions to ask and the right things to look for to ensure our clients get the best options possible,” said Ministry Travel President Beth Banfill.
The airline-online feud took center stage last month when American Airlines pulled its fares from Orbitz. Expedia, in a show of solidarity with its online competitor, initially made it more difficult for users of its site to access American’s fares. On January 1 they dropped American’s flights all together.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that American Airlines remains in “active discussions” with Expedia and Orbitz to return their flights to the online travel sites. Many industry experts, however, feel that American and other carriers will eventually eliminate doing business with online sites. According to USA Today, Delta recently removed its fares from three smaller travel sites “in an attempt to steer customers to its own website and build brand loyalty.”
Travel guru Arthur Frommer, founder of Frommer’s Travel Guides, wrote on his blog yesterday that, “The real reason for the stand-off, and it is becoming more clear that the obvious answer is the real answer: American Airlines no longer wants to pay commissions to Orbitz or Expedia…and it feels it can fill its flights without their assistance.”
Frommer went on to say, “In the future, it appears that would-be passengers will need to consult several sites of several airlines to learn the airfare situation for a particular trip. What a mess!”
Of course passengers can avoid the mess all together by simply contacting a travel agent!