Are Discounted Business Class Tickets Legit?

As business class flights offer great variety of high quality in-flight services, on-ground perks  and amenities, it’s no wonder that many people will want to get advantage of business class flights. There is always a search for best business class ticket deals.

Choosing to fly on business class is a great way to survive any long-haul flight overseas and guarantee yourself an enjoyable air travel experience. Business class cabins offer high level of  comfort, privacy  enough space for sleeping or working and for each passenger. They offer also  a variety of services and amenities that aren’t available on coach or premium economy class flights.

Business class passengers  also receive special attention from the flight attendants staff. Given all the amenities and perks business class provides us with, it’s normal that frequent travelers will opt for business class flights especially if they need to catch red-eye flights.

Consequently, the demand for cheap business class tickets is growing and this business segment grows too. Everyone wants to travel in comfortable and convenient way on the cheap.

And there are many of us who would like get affordable  business class tickets. Finding a discounted business class ticket won’t be a challenge. But how can we be sure that we are truly getting a discount  on the business class ticket and it’s legit?

It’s common that first and business class tickets often get bigger discounts than regular economy or premium economy class tickets.

Usually consolidators arrange ticket discounts not only for business class but for the other air travel classes too.  Consolidator tickets are fully legitimate and for this reason air companies offer them at low prices.

But are discounted business class tickets really legit?

The short answer is, “ It depends.” There are many questions related to the purchase of a discounted business class ticket. And there are risks too.

Will your air company accept your discounted business class ticket? Can you get a full refund for it? When looking for big business class ticket discounts we should be extra careful.

 

Many air companies  and travel agencies use the opportunity to attract more customers by offering some attractive business class ticket discounts. It’s true that travel agencies get access to business class ticket discounts.

And as you may have already seen, some of these discounts are considerable. To find a legitimate business class deal should research the best air travel agencies first.

But in the same time we should be aware that some of these offers may be scams. So we should be extra careful when searching for low business class ticket prices.

What causes significant business class ticket discounts?

There are many travel agencies that offer discounted business class tickets as they have access to consolidator fares. These are special business class ticket discounts determined by consolidators.

For those of you who don’t know consolidators are legal persons working for wholesale agencies who perform the practice of purchasing big number of tickets from the airlines. They arrange contracts with the different air companies to offer their business class tickets at prices much lower than the published prices.

They do this at wholesale rates and then resell these tickets to consumers or travel agents at prices that are much lower than the original fares set by the air carrier.

Travel agencies offer discounted business class tickets for the purpose of establishing a close partnership with air carriers. This benefits mainly travel agents as it allows them to make negotiations about contract deals and as a result they can offer business class tickets at super cheap prices.

What are the differences between buying consolidator fares and cooperation with airlines?

Pros and cons of direct cooperation with air companies

Cooperating with air carriers is pretty much the same as consolidated fares. The only difference is that when travel agencies cooperate with air carriers they get the business class ticket deals in a direct way from the airline companies . This involves different conditions but there are no intermediaries.

Pros and cons of consolidated fares

Consolidated business class ticket fares are offered by travel agencies and they are legitimate. The rates set by consolidators are also called unpublished or negotiated fares and these fares are considered fully legitimate. But if you decide to buy such type of discounted business class ticket, you should know that joint liability may be included.

Discounted consolidator tickets offer a certain benefit to airlines. This is the fact that they can make big discounts on their business class fares without the risk of bringing a negative effect on the sales of the regular business class ticket prices that are published.

Consolidators don’t sell discounted business class fares directly to customers but through retail travel agencies instead. These travel agencies are specialized in discounted ticket fares and they are the ones that offer the biggest business class ticket.

Buying a consolidator fare don’t allow you to be eligible for collecting frequent flyer miles. And consolidator fares don’t offer much flexibility to customers. That’s because  there is also the possibility  you may not be able to cancel your flight and have the ticket price fully refunded.

One of the main reasons for this is that the number of available seats is limited. Despite this fact, getting a business class ticket at really low fare is still a great option.

The bottom line is when searching for affordable business class tickets it’s good to choose such a travel agency that have access to consolidator fares but it also directly cooperates with different air carriers.

Which practice offers the cheapest tickets?

What determines how cheap a business class ticket deal will be?

The discount of a business class fare depends on the travel site and what type of mark-ups it has. Travel sites that offer discounted business class tickets get unpublished fares from a chosen number of airline companies. These companies usually have more business class seats available than passengers and for this reason they offer business class deals at low prices.

What you should pay attention when searching for business class ticket discounts?

When choosing to buy a business class ticket, you should be certain that the air company you have chosen is legitimate. Reputable air travel companies should follow the industry’s business standards.

Customers are required to share contact  information in order to get in contact with a sales agent. Sites that offer premium discounts on  business class flights should offer their customers the option to contact them via phone calls, not just text messages. Don’t forget to ask the agents about your flight schedule when you contact them.

One good thing to do is to check the customer reviews of the travel agencies’ sites and always research first before booking. To get the perfect business class deal you may need to make a compromise and agree with some conditions. One of them can be the period of time limit before departure.

It’s recommended to stay away from travel agencies that partner with  coupon brokers who are specialized in buying and selling frequent flyer miles. So the money for these miles goes for buying discounted business class tickets. The air fares are considerably lowered as they are offset by these used air miles.

But be careful when choosing  such business class discounts as they are against the terms and conditions of frequent flyer miles programs. And this isn’t considered legit. The downside of buying discount business class tickets by travel agencies that are partners with coupon brokers is the air company may cancel your tickets without any warning.

And there is another disadvantage too. If your business class ticket booking is considered a purchased award, the air company may also close your frequent flyer account. For this reason choosing such business class ticket deals isn’t recommended.

Airline companies actually take steps to stop the business of mileage/coupon brokers. Coupon brokers are in fact agencies that buy and sell frequent flyer travel awards.

These are mainly related to first and business class flights on intercontinental routes. The prices of these awards are therefore influenced by the mileage award schedules and market prices.

But coupon brokers don’t buy and sell frequent flyer credit awards just like miles. This cannot be done without paying a transfer fee and this fee’s price is higher than the credit itself. For this reason coupon brokers use a special process when buying and selling frequent flyer credit. It consists of a three-step process.

For example, when the broker agrees with the seller to make a deal, they pay them the price for the frequent flyer award. Then they ask them to issue the given reward in the buyer’s name. The buyer, the broker or the seller can make flight reservations.

But choosing to get brokered award brings certain risks. One  of them is the possibility that some foreign air carriers can add fuel surcharge to a person’s frequent flyer award ticket price by .

The cost can go to several hundred dollars. This means by buying discount business class tickets offered by coupon brokers you risk losing considerable amount of money. So this option to get a cheap business class deal isn’t the best.

That is why most large air companies ban the trade and barter with the frequent flyer awards they offer their clients. They have tried to stop the activity of coupon brokers by introducing some regulations.

One of these measures includes the limitation of award transfer to family members and also the requirement that the owner of air miles and the customer who is going to fly come together at the airport ticket counter. Despite the airlines’ efforts to stop coupon brokers, it’s possible that some still have managed to keep their business.