An idea I had about TA/OTA's
 

Before people go off on me about ethics, this isn't something I want to do. Just a thought is all.

I thoroughly enjoy digging up cheap airfare... And do it as a hobby. Call it a flight fetish. I have a friend that works at Flight Center that works off commission and mark ups. When ever he gets an inquiry he gets me to look into options for him to get the cheapest fares so he can mark up as much as possible. And 9 times out of 10 I can outsmart his GDS results. Sometimes through neat forced routings, sometimes with accidental fuel dumps, and most times through OTAs net fares that his GDS doesn't have access to so he can't see or book. He only has access to published fares.

So I was thinking... Why not start a sort of "travel brokerage" where I do the leg work for clients as a middleman.. and find them the cheapest fare possible with the freedom of booking on any platform... Including OTAs (not just a GDS) , and marking them up to a desired fare where they get it cheaper than they could have found it on their own... And I make money.
Essentially a human Trip Advisor, that searches all possibilities, but books it, and sells it for a profit?

Is this legal?

Isn't this sort of what the FlightFox folks are trying to build?

Isn't that what a real TA does? ;) Every TA gets a commission on selling published fares. Usually s/he bundles it with other bookings and provides a complete package, which is priced so that the customer pays for it. :cool:

'He only has access to published fares'

Very incorrect statement. Flight Centre has massive buying power with the airlines and as such has 'nett' deals which your mate will have access to. If he doesn't know about them, he's doing his job wrong :(

Plus if you find a fare by an OTA which is cheaper, it may be a nett fare that they have negotiated and can only be priced and ticketed by them - so you may find a cheap fare for someone but they would still be restricted by where they could book it.

How would you book the fare? You wouldn't be able to book an OTA negotiated fare anywhere but the OTA site - and as such they would include their own markup but a fare would show on the ticket, excluding your mark up - so you'd have to explain that, which can lead to some dodgy territory.

While not a lawyer but a lowly TA if it's in Ontario I would doubt it because if you aren't registered with be Travel Industry Council of Ontario you can be charged for acting as a TA.

http://www.tico.ca/enforcement-compliance.html

... have fun paying all the ADMs for FDed tickets

The problem is that I can't be sure you find me the best price. I would need a few more people like you, that look for prices and then pick the best option out of all.
When would you get paid? Afterwards or upfront?