Hello all!
I have a few doubts that you guys probably know the answer right away, given your experience.
Before, I thought websites like Kayak would always give me the best fare possible, so never looked anywhere else. But a friend asked me to call a travel agency to check their air fare and... it was much cheaper (almost $600 less from what Kayak was quoting). Before that, I though travel agencies (B&M) were not competitive anymore with those big online sellers/agencies/tools.
That happened last year and, again, I have to travel to the same destination.
I've been checking with the same travel agency, their prices are still cheaper than Kayak but very far from what I paid last year. Last year I bought from them for $800 RT and now it's like $1700. $1700 is not the regular/acceptable price.
I don't know anymore where to look, how to find a fare that is at least close to the one I paid last year. It's not possible that something from $800 jumped to $1700. The regular price is $1000 I would say, and several times I see it from $800 on sale.
Can you guys help me out? Maybe someone that works for the airline could give me some insight, like how they choose which travel agencies will receive deals, when, etc.? I asked that travel agency and they told me it's the carrier that decides on their pricing.
The route would be NYC-SAO RT.
Thank you!

What dates and airline are you on? I will tell what discount our agency gets

These price differences sound like consolidator fares or worse.

However, has the OP checked out the credentials of the travel agency? Could they be a broker for FF tickets? That's something you don't want to do.

The travel agency fares you mention are most likely "consolidator" fares - special fares the agency has negotiated directly with the airline in return for a commitment to book a certain number of passengers on a particular route. These consolidator fares are negotiated for a specific time period and are renegotiated periodically. Therefore it is not surprising that the fare you got last year is not the same as the one offered this year.

Kayak and similar sites usually only search "published" fares, not private negotiated fares. That is why you will not find consolidator fares, which are often lower than published fares, on kayak.

Agencies which offer consolidator fares often advertise in the travel section of Sunday newspapers of large cities or in the classified sections of those papers. Since you are flying out of New York, I recommend you check those sections of the New York Times - they have many ads for consolidators.

Thanks. This year, ideally:
NYC-SAO: departing on 20 Dec 2013
SAO-NYC: departing on 5 Jan 2013

I know they are the busiest days, but, last year that travel agency had them for $800, which I was impressed. I though it was a price error or something like that, but no... I really got it. Kayak had it for $1500+.
Even Matrix software had them same price as Kayak.

As I said, now I don't know where to look. I've been contacting that same travel agency this year, but so far their fare is almost the same as Kayak, like $1600+.

hmmm thanks... looks like those were Consolidator Fares indeed. I was not aware of them before and was surprised in a good way.
So, the best source for consolidator fares is the newspaper as you said? Again, surprised... never thought the old newspaper ad would be a good source for anything nowadays... there is no online source for that? Because they sell pretty quickly I assume.

OK our prices are higher than the ones you can see and our commissions are crap.

Travel sections in major newspapers are one source of consolidators. But many of the best consolidators don't deal directly with the public. Their margins are small so they make their money on volume. They deal only with travel agencies who already find out from the customer what they want. So the consolidator is merely a booking engine, not a place to chat up your possible international trip plans. You can ask any travel agency if they work with consolidators and if so, which one(s). USACA also lists several consolidators who are part of their organization.

Often, but not always, such consolidator tickets have more restrictions than published fares. But on the other hand, often consolidator tickets are less restrictive - waiving advance purchase restrictions, even lower change fees on occasion than published fares, etc.

Delta started decreasing or eliminating mileage accrual on most consolidator fares, so be careful if you are using a consolidator for Delta flights.

Thanks! Exactly, I almost got no miles last year (maybe 25%). For me, it's fine since I prefer $800 RT no miles than $1500 with miles. Those miles are not worth extra $700.
Well, looks like there is no easier way... I'll have to hunt for travel agencies that works with consolidators, then...

If you have any other tip, don't hesitate!

Thanks and happy flying!

Always pay for an airline ticket, especially a consolidator ticket, with a credit card. Although it is rare, there are some disreputable agencies who are unreliable and do not pay the airlines for all of the tickets they have issued. If you pay by credit card, you are protected by the credit card company. If the agency refuses a credit card, don't buy the ticket from them.

Absolutely. Never pay for a ticket by check, cash, western union, paypal, etc. Note also that a debit card is not the same as a credit card for consumer protection.

Consolidators or business travel specialists have all sorts of bulk fare deals that you won't find on the internet. They will generally charge a fixed booking fee, because, as johnny Colombia said, commissions are crap these days.

If you find a good agent, stick with them, they're an endangered species. Sometimes they mightn't be the cheapest, but in the long term they'll save you time and money and maybe get you out of a jam. When I'm stuck in a thousand long queue at a snowbound hub, my agent will sort out alternatives and hotels etc. Try calling Kayak in that situation.

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