Getting Lower Fares in Peak Season

Consolidators! That phenomenon born of the airline deregulation and travel boom of the 1980s has been endlessly written up in the past few years.

Yet there are still some Americans unaware that nearly all travel products--air fares, cruises, hotels and international car rentals--are sold not only at the standard published price but also at under-the-counter rates by consolidators. And of those who do know, many still ask, “But are they [consolidators] reliable?”

Well, things have changed a bit from the days when those entities were known as “bucket shops,” their ranks full of thinly financed, fly-by-night outfits whose bankruptcies sometimes left customers holding the bag. As time went on, the field became more populated with reliable, professional companies that buy up unused capacity from major air carriers, cruise lines and so forth and sell it to the public at discounts of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. And many out there today are no more likely to go bankrupt than any other travel company. Read on for several of the most solid:

Travac Tours & Charters. Selling between 70,000 and 80,000 air tickets per year (mostly to Europe), this is one of the longest-established and most respected consolidators in the business. President John Deacon says going to a consolidator is “something like buying your clothes at a shop where the labels have been cut off.” He adds that the consolidator market is most competitive during peak season because airlines are more likely to charge full fare themselves. During slack periods, though, the airlines try to drum up more business by cutting their fares directly, so the gap between regular and consolidator fares isn’t as dramatic. To get an idea of what Travac has to offer, contact them at (800) 872-8800 or on the Internet at https://www.travac.com.

Travel Bargains. It began in the mid-1980s as the Breakaway Club, a division of TWA selling deep-discount travel. Now a separate company, it sells tickets on many of the world’s major airlines at discounts of up to 40% off published rates, to the tune of 125,000 a year; it’s especially strong with destinations within the U.S. The company also runs the Travel Club, which for an annual fee of $50 ($95 for couples) provides its 30,000 members with benefits that include a quarterly newsletter called “Insider Travel,” with special air fares, cruise offers, tour packages and car rental discounts.

Ring them up at (800) 247-3273.

Council Travel. Founded 50 years ago, the country’s oldest and largest student travel agency deals with the general public too. It has 62 locations throughout the U.S. and every year sells half a million plane tickets discounted from 10% to 50% (in addition to nearly as many regular fares). It sells destinations worldwide, but one particular specialty is round-the-world flights, on which it can offer discounts of 25% to 50%. Try CT for value-priced hotels, tours and European rail passes too. For the location nearest you, call (800) 226-8624 or log on at https://www.ciee.org.

Spur-of-the-Moment Cruises. Last-minute vacancies on regularly scheduled cruises are the product at this small agency, and the discounts can run as high as 50% or 60% on hundreds of diverse cruises a year listed in their twice-monthly “Cruise News.” Find out what they’ve got by calling their 24-hour values hotline at (310) 521-1060, or solicit more information and copies of “Cruise News” by contacting them at (800) 343-1991.

The Cruise Line, Inc. One of the oldest and largest-volume cruise discounters around, it holds large blocks of cabins on more than 50 ships and is able to offer savings that average between 30% and 50% but can go as high as 70% (translating to between $300 to $2,000 a cabin). It, too, has a newsletter, “The World of Cruising,” listing bargains from Alaska to Tahiti. Get more information by calling (800) 777-0707 or on the Internet at https://www.cruiseline.com.

Cruises Only. Its business is concentrated on major cruise lines sailing to Alaska, the Caribbean and Europe, but it can offer discounts of 60% or better just about anywhere you want to go. Furthermore, since its parent company also owns other discount-travel interests, it can be a one-stop-shop for well-priced air, land and sea arrangements. For more, dial up (800) 895-3771 or on the Internet https://www.cruisesonly.com.