Where to Buy Airline Tickets

There are two types of plane fares:

1. Published fares, set by the airlines, and available to buy direct from the airline or a travel agent.
2. Unpublished fares, which come from consolidators and are often lower priced than published fares. These fares must be purchased direct from the consolidator or through a travel agent; they cannot be bought from the airline itself.

Finding the best-priced plane ticket can take a little hard work and research, and there are many places you can go to find a good deal. However, although online travel sites are gaining in popularity, don't assume that they will always be cheaper than your high street travel agent.

Online Sites

There are hundreds of online ticket agents and consolidators to choose from; some online travel sites may not offer a consolidator ticket (non-published fare), but may quote a published fare that you could obtain from any agent. As in all things, it pays to shop around as prices can vary widely between sites.

Consolidators

A consolidator is a company who buys tickets from the airlines in bulk or carries its own contract with the airlines. Some consolidators sell these low price tickets to travel agents, whilst others may sell them directly to the traveller.

Independent Travel Agents

When buying plane tickets, don't forget to check your local independent travel agent. They have access to many consolidator fares, and can quite often find a fare cheaper than it is online.

No-Frills Airlines

You can also buy low cost tickets from no frills airlines such as easyJet or Ryanair; these fares are usually only available from the airline in question. The cheapest tickets on these airlines are on a first come first served basis, with only a certain number allocated to each price bracket. As the date of departure grows closer, and the cheaper seats sell out, the cost of these fares will increase in price. In pays to book as early as possible in this case.

Charter Flights

Charter companies, such as Britannia, MyTravel and Thomas Cook, can sometimes offer much cheaper flights compared to scheduled flights. The downside of charter flights is that they usually provide less choice of flight dates and destinations, and the planes tend to have more restricted legroom. (You can compare leg room allowances for different airlines in the secion on seat pitch.