It has been common sense for most of the people that book directly via airlines’ websites is cheaper than book the same flight through various online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Logically, this statement holds true because airlines do not need to pay any commissions to “middleman” (OTAs). Thus, airfares should be cheaper than those of OTAs. Now, you might think it is a good tip to help you book air tickets for your next family holiday. However, this is not always the case.
If you like travelling by air, and most importantly you have to pay the air tickets yourself, you are likely to have the same experience as I do: searching for ideal flights which fit my travelling plan best and comparing the fare among OTAs and the carrier’s website to get the most compelling one. In most of the cases, OTAs can offer the best deal.
You might be supersized by this irrational and raise a question why? This issue is also largely discussed by lots of individuals in different of platforms, ranging from social media to forums and from major online media to blogs. Indeed, the disintermediation which is known as the efforts for airlines to remove “middlemen” has been a significant trend in the air transportation industry. Compared with selling tickets to travellers via OTAs, airlines can get more money by selling the seat directly. Despite the fact that the direct presence of airlines is increasing (most of them have maintained social media accounts to publish promotions and slove travellers’ real-time problems) which pose threats to OTAs, the direct selling doesn’t replace the popularity of OTAs. In contrast, OTAs have become more and more important as they enable travellers to search all possible flights without limiting to only one airline or codeshared flights. This inherent advantage over airlines’ direct selling positions OTAs as indispensable players in the aviation industry. Therefore, The OTAs based selling model strengthens the force of the reintermediation for the industry.
Nevertheless, if you think to book the air tickets from OTAs is 100% cheaper than go directly to airlines’ websites, you are failing to the eDreams trick. To decide which platforms can truly offer you the best air prices, you need to ask yourself which services you need along with your flight. For example, most of the domestic flights in the USA would not include the checked luggage in the basic airfare. If you book directly with the airline, you have an option to add the additional check-in luggage for the reduced price. Whereas, this will not apply to most of OTAs, meaning that you can only pay the check-in luggage at the check-in counter, which means the price you paid for the language is doubled than the regular one, resulting in the higher airfare in total. Hence, one important factor we are talking about here is that when you are not sure which platforms to book your flights, the answer depends on your travelling demands: if you want just to fly “light” with the carried- on cabin luggage only, go for OTAs, otherwise, go directly.
From my point of view, the travelling industry has to be experiencing both the disintermediation and reintermediation in the foreseeable long term. On the one hand, airlines are trying to maximise profits by selling seats directly. Airfares are more much transparent and clear than those list by OTAs. The booking class can be more easily found by frequent flyers who need to make better “miles” decisions. Also, the prompt services are available if you have booked their flights directly. OTAs, on the other hand, feature unique characteristics which are impossible for airlines to imitate.
Source:
Should You Book Airline Tickets Through An Online Travel Agency?
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k10159077-Why_I_buy_from_OTA-Air_Travel.html
