How to know whether a travel agent issues tickets instantly?
I apologize for a rather long explanation but it is necessary to understand the issue.
To begin, we know that the most reliable way to buy the ticket is directly from airline. But this is not always possible, and sometimes we need to use travel agents.
Now there seem to be two kinds of online travel agents:
One which issues the ticket immediately upon purchase. Those include mostly the ones in Priceline group: Expedia, Orbitz, Booking.com and so on. When you purchase a ticket from them, it is issued and confirmed immediately.
However there is a second group of online travel agents - such as Travel2Be, Flyfar, GotoGate etc. With them once you click "purchase" you just sent a request to someone to buy a ticket for you. The actual ticket purchase happens later, and in a few hours you either receive the ticket, or a quite lame response ("We have some good news - your credit card has not been charged! But sorry, your ticket could not be issued" or something like that)
Both groups work fine when you book well in advance or a non-popular route (although I had bad experience with some of those agents). However this difference becomes critical when you're buying a ticket for a flight where the availability is diminishing fast. What happens in this case is different between those:
Orbitz etc show you a good price for a flight. In some cases as soon as you click to buy it, you get the "Oops, this flight now costs $2000 more, still wanna buy it?". However once you purchase a flight, it is purchased.
Travel2Be etc show you a good price for a flight and accepts the payment. Then you will get the above message 4-12 hours later in email.
Obviously the second scenario is much worse, because you just lost valuable time, which you could have used to find alternatives more quickly, before they also sell out.
Thus my question is:
Is there a reliable way to find out fast whether a specific online travel agent issues the confirmed ticket immediately (like Orbitz/Expedia), or works on an order taking basis (like Travel2be/gotogate)?
Pictures about "How to know whether a travel agent issues tickets instantly?"
What is the disadvantage of a travel agent?
Con: Unless your trip is complicated a travel agent might be overkill. If you're an experienced traveler, you may find the process simpler than you think. And when you rely on a travel agent you have to interact, wait for business hours, and otherwise deal with someone else's schedule.Can you cancel a trip with a travel agent?
If You Have a Travel Agent Having to cancel a vacation is one of those circumstances when travelers who worked with a travel agent will be glad they did. In that case, all you need do is make one call to the agent, and she can handle the rest as long as you have travel insurance.Are airline tickets cheaper through a travel agent?
It's more expensive to book flights with a travel agent than to book online from home. That's because travel agents typically charge for their services, even booking a flight on your behalf. Still, an agent's services could be worthwhile for some travelers hoping to avoid stressful vacation planning.Can travel agents change flights?
Each airline handles external tickets differently. If you end up needing to make a change or cancellation, it pays to do so directly with your travel agent. That should definitely be your first point of contact. All existing airline-issued waivers and exceptions will be still be applied to your ticket.How to Immediately Become a Travel Agent Working from Home
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