Is it generally cheaper to book flights directly with the airline?

Question

Can travel agents get you special deals on the price or is it generally better to book directly?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, If you book direct you save the travel agents commission.

Some airlines refuse to pay agents so you have to book direct, Southwest for instance. That's one way they keep ticket prices low.

Ian M

Answer 2

I've recently booked a flight through Expedia. Once I'd got the name of the airline ( and before paying), I checked how much the airline was charging and it was almost double what Expedia was. Try putting 'cheap flight to..........' in your search engine and see what comes up.

Answer 3

Airline's own websites are usually (but not always) much more expensive than booking it either on an online travel site (Travelocity, Expedia, etc.) or with a good offline discount travel agent.

Before you book a ticket directly with an airline you should check other options.  Sometimes airline websites have special sales, and those tend to be good deals, but for routine tickets the other options are generally better.  I've seen many times where an airline website gives a fare in the thousands where the online sites give one around $300-400.

Answer 4

they tell you they do but if u go to the airlines websites thats where you'll get cheapest prices

Answer 5

Try internet flight agencies and a lot of them. Test it against the airline direct prices.

Answer 6

With a travel agent, you have a voice if something were to go wrong. They may charge a $25 fee per ticket but depending on total cost, it should be money well spent.

Best fares are on airline sites for most part and you get a 24 hour grace period to cancel-but check on this to be sure..

Answer 7

Not always, you should always check. I bought a ticket trough orbitz because it was the cheapest fare for the flight I wanted, even at the airline site the price was higher for almost $100. This is not common that buying directly from airline is more expensive but do your research first always to avoid being ripped off.

Answer 8

it depends where you are going.