Originally Posted by
jjmoore
What does UA really have to gain from selling these "bulk" fares to agencies like AMEX? IMHO, they are giving away the margins they would make for themselves anyway by chasing the quick bucks.... with the added benefit of the way they have enacted non-disclosure agreements to conceal the nature of these tickets, and to use that as a means to rip off frequent flyers.... how does UA benefit in any way from this?
It gives them access to another channel for merchandizing. They're sometimes more restrictive (possibly no changes, no refunds, no advance seat selection, no frequent flier points) than the published fares for the same fare class, which makes it worth it to the airline to accept the lower price from the consolidator.