Prevalence of Google Flight fares requiring a travel agent
Dec 25, 2018, 10:00 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 3
Prevalence of Google Flight fares requiring a travel agent
So many of the DL fares I find are only available via a travel agent. (GF says this on the final page after you've selected all your flights.) But, the travel agents I talk to can't find these fares. Most agents don't book flights only any way - they want to book just packages.
Has GF gotten less reliable than it used to be?
Has GF gotten less reliable than it used to be?
Dec 25, 2018, 10:26 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,058
Google Flights uses ITA Software code behind the scenes which has issues with married segment availability when using multi-city searches (it incorrectly only looks at individual flight bucket availability with multi-city searches). They've added a "hack" to Google Flights get around the ITA issues by doing a final inventory check on the actual married segment inventory. It's not a real fix as they should really be looking at married segment availability from the initial flight search and quoting prices based on that. Unfortunately, they incorrectly state that an agent might be able to book the flights (they can't). But then, I've explained this all to you in the earlier thread that you started.
Last edited by xliioper; Dec 25, 2018 at 11:00 pm
Dec 25, 2018, 10:50 pm
#3
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Here's is an example with CLE-ATL-MSY on Jan 2, flights 401 and 1167. Google initially quotes a $173 E fare with L basis because the individual flights have L inventory. But wait there's no L inventory, only M on the married segments! Therefore, the only fare than can actually be booked is an M fare at $370. An agent cannot simply ignore the married inventory and book that $173 fare. It doesn't work that way.
Dec 26, 2018, 9:55 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2011
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It may be the agents with whom you're speaking. I regularly book complex itineraries through our agency (Amex Global Business Travel). I generally find these complex itineraries on GF and then call in (as opposed to using our booking tool, Concur). ~90% of the time the agents can compose the itinerary and price it close to what I find on GF.
Dec 26, 2018, 10:05 am
#6
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It may be the agents with whom you're speaking. I regularly book complex itineraries through our agency (Amex Global Business Travel). I generally find these complex itineraries on GF and then call in (as opposed to using our booking tool, Concur). ~90% of the time the agents can compose the itinerary and price it close to what I find on GF.
Dec 26, 2018, 10:57 am
#7
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Corporate travelers often have access to fare buckets unavailable to the general public enabling AMEX GBT to book the complex itinerary while a generic TA would not have access to that same inventory -- I know this happens somewhat frequently at the company I work for when I'm traveling
Dec 26, 2018, 11:03 am
#8
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These are corporate discounts which are negotiated by the employer with a carrier. Those generally may only be booked by a corporate TA designated by the employer. That is generally coupled with compliance software such as Concur, which can limit what employees may book and either limit or at least log exceptions.
Dec 26, 2018, 11:12 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Formerly at PIT, now planted near MSP.
Programs: No flights since April 2019 (Medical Issues). Lost all my status.
Posts: 1,483
When google flights says to book with a “travel agent”, doesn’t it really mean “I can’t direct you to DL.com to book broken fares”; however you can go to DL.com and book some broken fares by using the “multi-city” feature.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Dec 26, 2018, 11:40 am
#10
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When google flights says to book with a “travel agent”, doesn’t it really mean “I can’t direct you to DL.com to book broken fares”; however you can go to DL.com and book some broken fares by using the “multi-city” feature.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Last edited by xliioper; Dec 26, 2018 at 11:50 am
Dec 26, 2018, 11:56 am
#11
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Formerly at PIT, now planted near MSP.
Programs: No flights since April 2019 (Medical Issues). Lost all my status.
Posts: 1,483
I'm sure you're correct for the case you quote. However; as someone who never learned the meaning of "buckets", "ITA", "basis codes", etc; I have learned that one may book cheap fares quoted by Google Flights and Kayak by using the "multi-city" function on DL.com.
Dec 26, 2018, 1:16 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,058
When google flights says to book with a “travel agent”, doesn’t it really mean “I can’t direct you to DL.com to book broken fares”; however you can go to DL.com and book some broken fares by using the “multi-city” feature.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Try it when you want a cheaper fare between two DL hubs. Use ORD or MDW as the connection point using “multi-city”.
Dec 28, 2018, 7:36 pm
#13
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Actually, this problem happens a lot with GF. I've lost the count of time that i find something good only to be told to book by agent, or worse yet, it forwards to DL website and the site throws an error say fare not available or "private" whatever that means.... It wastes a lot of time.
This issue is not limited to DL and happens with other airlines as well...
This issue is not limited to DL and happens with other airlines as well...