When in the tourism sector we talk aboutdifferences between wholesalers and retailers, we often think directly of travel agencies or agencies for booking hotels and apartments, but the world is big and diverse.
There are also theair flight wholesalers!
Do you know any?
If you answered no, you are in the right place.
We have written this post to make things clear and to help you fully understand what an air freight wholesaler is and to learn about some examples.
¡A volarrrr!
To talk about this concept we will go from the general to the specific, and so we start with something simple.
The airline flight wholesaler, also known asglobal flight distribution system, is one of the most important players in the tourism industry. After all, if you think about it, most trips start with arriving at the airport to catch a plane to your dream destination.
But let's go a little deeper instead of staying on the surface.
A flight wholesaler is aspecialized company that acts as an intermediarybetween airlines and travel agencies. For what purpose?
Basically, it is responsible for acquiring a large number of airline tickets from airlines and subsequently selling them – in bulk or at special prices – to tourist companies, whether OTAs or agencies.
But that's not all.
Let's learn about some of the characteristics of this type of global distribution system by comparing it with its main supplier: airlines.
The relationship between the two is more than evident but there are certain differences that are important to take into account.
Airlines are air transport companiesThat is, they operate commercial flights and airplanes, manage routes, sell tickets to passengers through their websites and offer a passenger transport service.
So far, so good. Now all that remains is to clarify the work of the airline wholesaler.
The wholesaler does not operate flights or have aircraft.. Furthermore, it does not offer a service to passengers or sell them tickets.
Its focus is on flight intermediation and distribution.That is, the wholesaler knocks on the airline's door and buys tickets at a negotiated price to resell them to agencies and obtain the maximum possible profit.
Although we don't hear much about them, these companies are an essential pillar of the tourism sector.
Airline wholesalers provide a wide variety of destinations and fares to travel agencies so they can offer them to millions of tourists eager to travel around the world.
Let's meet the most important ones!
It is one of the leading companies worldwide. A global flight distribution system thatconnects travel agencies with a wide range of flights, in addition to other tourist services.
It also has a lot of renown in the sector and they say that its mission issimplifying the complex world of tourismThey offer a wide range of air travel and technological solutions for the travel industry.
Founded in 1960, it emerged as a joint project between American Airlines and IBM to create theworld's first computerized airline reservation system.
Since then, Sabre has evolved into a technology ecosystem that touches nearly every stage of a traveler’s experience. They have three global distribution channels: travel agencies, airlines, and consumer services.
Perhaps what you know best about Expedia is its role asonline travel agency, but the reality is that this business group also provides its services as a wholesaler of air flights to other agencies and companies.
Don't be fooled by its classic ice cream flavor name.
Dnata is theDubai National Air Travel Agency, a company with different travel services, among which stands out its role as a wholesaler and provider of air flights for other retailers.
Although it focuses primarily on the hotel industry, Hotelbeds is also a wholesale provider of air travel since it incorporated the global flight distribution system Tourico Holidays into its business in 2017.
With all this information you already know what airline wholesalers are, but if you are a travel agency, perhaps another question lurks: who is it more profitable to buy flights from?
As often happens in life, the answer is clear but ambiguous: it depends.
What does it depend on? Who your end client is or the public you are targeting. Being a local travel agency is not the same as organizing business trips for large groups.
In any case, there are two things you need to be clear about.
The first is thatAirline wholesalers' prices are usually much more competitiveto buy directly from the airline.
The second is that if you buy flights in bulk from these global distribution systems you will have a lot of tickets to sell, so it is best to have abooking softwareto manage flights and other services on a single platform quickly and easily.
Do you dare to try it?
