Information on how to
become a travel agent.

Let me give you a straight forward answer - yes and no!

:-)

Seriously, if you are planning on making money selling domestic air travel, don't waste you time. On the other hand, International air travel is another story and I'll get to that in a minute.

Almost all domestic airlines no longer pay commissions to travel agencies. The only way travel agencies can afford to sell airline tickets is if they charge a service fee, typically $25, over and above the retail price of the ticket. If you as an independent travel agent "sell" the ticket you may or may not earn your percentage of that $25. I say, "may or may not" because some host agencies have simply said that they cannot afford to pay any "commission" to the independent travel agent.

I personally have never sold air by itself. The only way I will handle the air portion is if it is a part of a cruise or leisure vacation package and it is available thru the supplier. I simply tell the client that they can get just as good a price booking their flights over the Internet as I can get for them - and if they do it themselves they will have full control over which airlines, flights, and times they want to fly.

Now, let's talk about International flights. Here the independent travel agent can make some money if they work it right.

There are people called "consolidators" who purchase blocks of seats on International flights a big discounts off the retail price. They add a small profit for themselves and resell them at prices that are still substantially below the regular retail price. They sell the ticket to the host travel agency at a "net" price.

The host travel agency then adds whatever commission they feel they can charge to the price of the ticket and sells it to the passenger. Assuming that the host travel agency does not get too greedy, the end price usually still comes out to be lower than the regular retail price and is a good deal for the client.

As an independent travel agent you will earn your share of that commission. Because of the high price of most International airline tickets, you, the travel agent, can actually make a reasonable profit for the time you spend working with the client.

If your real interest is just in getting cheap airfare, check out some of these resources.

Lyn Liming
Independent Travel Agent

Copyright 2004 Lyndel Liming - All Rights Reserved