Experiences with consolidators (powered by Patheo)?
 

I'm starting to plan a trip to Germany in October (ORD-HAJ and back) and I've taken a look at several online consolidators' sites. One thing I've noticed is that the majority of them use a booking engine that is run by Patheo. Sites that use this are several, including flights.com, EUfares.com, amazinglowfares.com, and airlineconsolidator.com's "additional international fares" link. (Airlineconsolidator's primary search uses a German-based booking engine run by Infosys.) There are obviously several others out there...

My goal, in booking a ticket, is to get a low fare, but ideally one that earns me Mileage Plus miles, of course. (United, Lufthansa, or SAS would be most convenient.) Without any status, upgrades are not an issue (sigh), though earning the miles *would* make me a Premier...

A few observations and questions:

1) First off, have folks out there used these sites, and how has the experience been? Any issues to be aware of?

One thing I've noticed from several of these providers is a general lack of responsiveness to e-mails. I wrote to a few of them asking what booking class a particular itinerary was in, or if it would be eligible for frequent flier mile accrual, and haven't yet received an answer. Will try using the phone later...

2) When using any of these Patheo-powered sites, some of the lowest airfares appear as offered by "Major German Airline." This is a semi-opaque fare, I suppose: They give the flight times and even the flight NUMBERS, which unsurprisingly match Lufthansa perfectly. They even put the words "German airline" in orange... The fares are really cheap (as much as $200 less than what UAL is offering on its own or any other website).

The fact that it's not stated that a particular itinerary is with Lufthansa worries me re: mileage accrual, since this is awfully similar to Hotwire or Priceline's opaque model. However, it's not quite THAT opaque, since they DO give the flight numbers...

Have people earned miles on these kinds of tickets?

3) Any ideas why there is such variation in base prices between the sites, even though they are all clearly using the same booking engine? The price before taxes for the itinerary in question ranges from 460 to 530. Same flights. Are these sites just run by travel agencies who tap into a central pool of tickets, which they are then marking up according to parameters set into the database?

4) Lastly, any good cheap consolidators that I may have missed, and whom I should be calling or looking up online?

Sorry for the verbosity.

Thanks.

If you're trying to become a Premier member, keep in mind that only these discount economy fares give you elite qualifying miles (EQMs):

E,M,U,H,Q,V,W,S,T,K,L; in addition to the full-fare economy classes Y & B.

Some of the consolidators' fare may not qualify, though I don't have detail; but UA has been pretty generous on this aspect, much better than CO/DL.

On united.com, it only says that "most paid fares" on LH or SAS qualify for EQMs, but I think you should call UA to find out if a particular consolidator fare counts or not.

Thanks for the advice/warning re: booking classes. Based on earlier research, it appears that tickets in booking code S are "risky," but even then some will earn miles.

FWIW, I called one of the consolidators that I referenced in my earlier post, and she said that all their fares were mileage-earning with UAL. (Their fares were not in S class.) To double check that, I will certainly call United before any booking.

FF miles and EQM are two different things. "Mileage-earning fare" means it earn FF miles, but not necessarily EQMs. That's why I said if you want to get Premiere status for next year, you need to check about EQMs. You should know how many you have this year, and whether a EQM-qualifying fare would give you enough to cross the 25,000 EQM threshold.

Understand clearly about what an Elite Qualifying Mile is.

united.com shows fares including taxes. You mention that conolidator fares can be as much as $200 lower. You also mention that at least some of the consolidator prices don't include taxes. Don't know where you are flying from, but taxes on a LH trip IAD-FRA-HAJ-FRA-IAD are $122.

rkkwan and mrwunrfl,

Thanks for your replies. I appreciate your suggestions, and I assure you I'm aware of these issues.

According to a United agent I spoke to, if the (Star Alliance) fare is eligible for frequent flyer accrual, then those miles are EQM. Since I'm a suspicious sort, I'll verify the complete fare basis code with UAL before finalizing booking, but:

http://www.united.com/page/article/0...0.html#Premier status with Star Alliance

Regarding taxes, I'm quite familiar with international airfares and I'm aware of their impact on the bottom line. As I said in my original post, my itinerary is Chicago to Hanover. For one of the consolidators in question, the base fare is 460, taxes are 121.43, and a 12 booking fee. Total of 593.43. That matches your $122 on ual.com. But you're right that the bottom line is what matters, not the base fare. (And don't forget those booking fees...) I should have been clearer in my first post.

So have any of you folks booked tickets with a consolidator?

cakobau...Yes, many times.I book thru a TA and he can get good fares to just about anywhere I go....Canada,South America,South Pacific, Europe.He has a good handle on who specializes in which region of the world.For me, the important thing to remember is that they all have different change fees and different windows in which to make those changes.EG, to Canada the change fee is $150 and I have to make the change at least 24 hours prior to when I want to travel.Sometimes I get a lower fare if I stay 4 days instead of 2.These fares work great for me for a non Saturday night stay itinerary.And I nearly always get the miles.Hope this helps and best of luck.

No, I have not used consolidators. I am on this thread to learn and just wanted to make sure I understood your comparisons. I went to travelocity to try ORD-HAJ in October and see LH fare of $575. Usually the travelocity price includes taxes, but when I clicked on thru and selected flights it gave me a total ticket price of $697. Your consolidator has the better price, then.

I can reply to any question dealing with this topic since 1) Our company is a consolidator and 2) we use patheo.

LOGO NOT BEING SHOWN
In response to your original question - the reason that the airline is not shown is because the airlines do not allow it because of the contract.

APPLY MILES OR EARN MILES
In General Miles do not apply to consolidator fares since they are so much cheaper then published. There are allot of restrictions with these fares.

PRICE DIFFERNACE BETWEEN SITES ON SMAE FLIGHT.
Prices are depending on the Class of service and the markup added on the site. The Mass of patheo sites that claim to sell consolidator tickets are NOT consolidators, they are just reselling them. I am a consolidator on this network so I know this for fact.

if you want to buy ticket directly from a consolidator try www.allcheapfares.com or www.justairfare.com.

Or go to Jaxfax.com and view a list of consolidators. They are a industry magazine that consolidator advertise in

Also consolidator have contract to specific areas so one does not have everything. A Consolidator is a niche market travel agency. So make sure you ask them where they have contracts to before assuming they have it all.

cakobau,
What did you end up doing?

Although I am very familiar with the Patheo I have not personally used it. However, I am considering using fareportal.com Their booking agent also gives a wide variety of consolidators. They also have some options that are very attratcive. Check out http://www.ultimatefares.com - B2C
http://www.travelcombo.com - B2C Anyone have any comments?