Guy Booth: "We're working on the new booking engine; it will allow us to use multiple consolidators. Right now we have a single consolidator. So when you search for airfares in North and South America we beat the hell out of Expedia and Travelocity. Our plan is to get a European consolidator, then an Asian. Then it becomes a win-win situation."

I would like to stay a loyal customer as LP/GP has been very generous to my family, I have however made three attempts to buy tickets using the present “consolidator” and my price comparisons have always yielded a much better value from another supplier.

Last summer I tried to buy a round trip ticket from Shanghai to Beijing and I must admit GP was one of the few companies offering the routing. However when I included the paper ticket fee, and delivery fees (in the US), the ticket price was much higher than any other agencies offering the route. I recently tried to book a ticket from LAX to JFK and found the price was nearly 50% higher than the ticket I purchased on the United Airline website just fifteen minuets after I tried to book with GP. This price comparison was for identical flights and times on the same airline, so it was very fair. No need to go into my third attempt to purchase a ticket, you get the point.

I do see some hope in the GP plans to add new consolidators and maybe they will be able to at least be competitive on ticket prices. I would not mind paying a few dollars more, for the mileage accrual benefit, but so far the difference in price has not been offset by the additional miles offered by GP.

I hope GP does not wait too long to implement the new consolidator program or they may loose the interest of those who are still trying to remain loyal.