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Why is it so much cheaper to buy airline tickets from discount internet services?

I checked on plane ticket to France in Dec. and can get it for 1170$ on a discount site and it's 1459$ on the United Airlines site. Why such a difference? Are there very limited seats at the discount sites? And can you get cancellation insurance? Thanks

Public Comments

1. It's not always that way... EDIT: 3rd poster is right...
2. You can visit this site to Find the Cheapest Deals Online and for Free coupon codes,Free Discount Coupons and Vouchers on Airlines and Hotels http://freetravel4ever.blogspot.com
3. All airlines and their fare structures are slightly different but as a general rule of thumb it is important to check both avenues. Quite often their are different categories of fares in the same class of seat. It can be rather complicated but in essence, a certain number of discounted seats are blocked off for use by Discount websites and various promotions thereby giving cheaper prices. When this blocks of seats are sold out you will often find that it becomes cheaper to book through the airline as the internet sites now will quote regular rate prices at a slightly higher cost. It also depends on the destination as popular routes and holiday destinations are sold in much larger volume by the discount sites thereby receiving volume discounts. For example, one can fly from Toronto, Canada to most of the Caribbean than one can fly within Canada. Anyhow, it all depends on the airline and how they reserve blocks of seats for discount sale. And at the end of all that, who really knows as most of what they do tends to make little sense anyways! :)
4. United.com claims to have the lowest prices on United fares, so if you're seeing a United fare for lower elsewhere, you might be able to get some money for it. Here's some more info: http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51216,00.html
5. Most internet airline ticketing websites do not hold 'blocks of seats'. The inventory of seats that they have access to is exactly the same are those seen on airline computer reservation systems from the airlines themselves or in 'brick-and-mortar' travel agencies. Most websites use 'contract' fares, which means they get a certain percentage of the fare as commission, part of which they kickback to the consumer as a 'discount'. In exchange for the commission level they get from the airline, the airline may specify that the ticket discount website must enforce stricter cancellation and change policies than those of the airlines themselves. Cancellation Insurance can be purchased from insurance brokers, travel agencies, airlines, or from the discount airfare website itself, subject to certain limitations. An entity that sells travel insurance is subject to all Federal & State insurance licensing, laws & regulations. Some states disallow selling insurance to persons not resident in the state where the entity is licensed. It's probably wiser to purchase your travel insurance at a travel agency nearest to you. There are many different types of cancellation insurance policies and a good travel agent probably has more choice and knowledge of their comparative advantages and disadvantages than any of the others, along with differences in premium rates. Be aware, however, that the insurance agent needs to know details of how much you paid for the ticket you've bought and how much you will lose in case of cancellation. Make sure you purchase your cancellation-interruption insurance policy within 72 hours of purchasing your ticket. Many insurance companies will not provide policy coverage for policies purchased after that 72 hour 'window'.