Facts You Should Know About
Making Airline Reservations Via The Internet*

Industry research has demonstrated that over 90% of the time travel agents provide better fare information than Internet providers.

• Fares are highly volatile and change constantly due to the airlines use of inventory management and capacity control. The timing of a search and/or reservation can turn up very different fares. This holds true whether making a reservation through a travel agent or the Internet. As a result, timing can play a critical role in the fare determined using either source.

• A fare that may seem better on the Internet is not always available when ticket issuance is attempted.

• While Internet fares may sometimes seem better than those quoted by a travel agent, the Internet does not provide fare rules. The traveler may not qualify for the fares they see.

• The Internet provides no comparative fare information so the traveler really doesn't know what is the best fare available for their travel needs.

• Internet fares are highly capacity-controlled. Therefore, on the outside chance that the fare found is better than the one quoted by the agent, it is unlikely that many seats are available at the price shown.

• If a traveler purchases an Internet fare the reservation cannot be changed to take advantage of a lower price should the original fare go down. Purchasing a ticket through Travel-On allows the traveler to take advantage of a lower fare should the fare decrease, by having the ticket reissued by Travel-On.

• Internet fares can be confusing. No two Internet sites provide the same fare for the same itinerary even when a search is conducted at the same time. Therefore, the traveler often buys a "pig in a poke".

• Internet providers such as Travelocity, Expedia, and Preview use the same automated reservation systems as travel agents. Travel agents have access to the same fares as these Internet providers with the added advantage of last seat availability.

• When changes in airline schedules or flight cancellations occur, travelers who have made their reservations through the Internet are not routinely notified of these changes or cancellations.

• Internet reservations offer no opportunity to improve the assigned seating prior to airport check in. Travel-On's automated seat checker reviews seat assignments up to flight time.

• Travelers with questions, problems or concerns have nobody to call when using the Internet.

• A good indicator of the financial status of these commercial web providers may be found in a recent article in the Washington Post. The article discusses the merger of two of the largest of these providers, Preview and Travelocity. Since none of the three largest providers make money via the Internet, all of them are anxious to cut their losses. They are trying to accomplish this through mergers and the creation of "lifestyle" sites. Some insight on the limited current popularity of such sites for corporate travel needs may be read into these actions.

• Finally, an important consideration to using the Internet should be the cost of time spent by the traveler in the Internet reservation process. Virtually all of our clients have told their employees that it is not cost effective for them to use the Internet to make their travel arrangements and the cost of doing so far outweighs any benefits that may be accrued from a possible, minimal cost savings.

* When using commercial Internet reservation systems such as Travelocity, Expedia, and Preview Travel.