Transport is one of the most sustainable sectors of the economy. Demand for passenger transportation is stable throughout the year, and with the onset of a certain season, the flow of passengers increases several times. Therefore, the sale of railway and air tickets as a business turns out to be very attractive for entrepreneurs.
But this activity is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Only a thorough study of the topic will allow you to create a successful business in the field of ticket sales.
Selling air tickets - how to organize
You can now find a flight ticket sales office everywhere: in shopping and office centers, in travel and insurance companies. Such an abundance of sales outlets generates interest among novice entrepreneurs. At first glance, it seems that to organize an air ticket office it is enough to rent a small room and establish trade relations with carriers. However, securing access to tickets is not so easy.
How to open an airline ticket office from scratch? Today it is possible to work in two directions: as an agent or subagent. Both options allow you to sell air tickets, but the requirements for the seller for each type of cooperation are significantly different.
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Opening an airline ticket office under an agency agreement
To conclude an agency agreement you must:
- be accredited by the International Transport Association - IATA or the Transport Clearing Company;
- conduct professional training for employees in accordance with the requirements of airlines and accrediting companies (personnel are also required to have work experience in the transportation sector);
- prepare the office in accordance with regulatory requirements for ticket office premises;
- gain access to ticket booking systems - “Gabriel”, “Amadeus”, “Galileo”, “Sirena”, “Start”.
In addition, each airline has its own additional requirements for possible agents. For example, an agency agreement may provide for conditions for the agent to open a certain number of sales points, or for the mandatory purchase of a certain number of tickets, including by flight.
Important! Agents are subject to serious requirements in terms of sales volumes in the form of monthly plans, as well as the presence of an active client base.
An air carrier can advise a businessman on how to open an airline ticket office directly, but it rarely comes to the conclusion of an agency agreement, since airlines need large operators who can organize large-scale sales and have serious financial resources.
Opening a point of sale of air tickets under a subagency agreement
A more acceptable option for many entrepreneurs for organizing the sale of air tickets is to become a subagent. Almost all airlines allow their agents to have sub-agents. They are also subject to certain requirements, but not as strict as in the first case.
To conclude a subagency agreement, you must contact the agent and fulfill all the conditions imposed by his partner airline, as well as the agent himself. Most often, these conditions provide for the following responsibilities of the subagent: to equip the point of sale with office equipment, conduct training for staff in working with special programs, and provide advertising support.
All this should reflect the air ticket office that some airline agencies require from their potential partners. Subagents are rarely required to meet sales volume requirements, and a mandatory ticket purchase quota is not established. Working under a subagency agreement is the most attractive option for creating your own business selling airline tickets, which does not require major investments.
More details about what types of airline ticket offices there are, and how such enterprises make money, are described in the following video:
How to organize the sale of train tickets
An equally interesting area of the “ticket business” is the sale of train tickets. Here the situation is somewhat different from the air transportation sector. Russian Railways is a monopolist, and therefore dictates very strict conditions for organizing ticket sales.
Today, Russian Railways has several dozen direct agents, as the company conducts a serious selection of partners. To cooperate with a company on an agent basis, you must pass three levels of accreditation:
- accreditation of the right to conclude a contract;
- confirmation of compliance of each point of sale with established requirements;
- accreditation of each employee selling tickets.
In addition, Russian Railways reserves the right to monitor the agent’s activities, including conducting periodic certification of the partner’s sales offices and personnel.
The requirements for subagents are also quite high, but are more feasible for specialists who know the specifics of Russian Railways.
When opening a railway ticket office, it is important to know how to make money selling railway tickets, since neither the carrier nor the agents pay a commission on sales. In this case, the profit is generated through a service fee for issuing a ticket, the amount of which the subagent sets independently or in agreement with the agent. Ancillary services, such as ticket delivery, hotel booking, etc., can bring additional income.
Selling tickets online is a real business
Having an idea of how to open a railway and air ticket office, you can plan to create your own business in this direction. One interesting option is to sell tickets on the Internet. In this case, there is no need to organize an office or hire staff, all costs are minimal.
To do this, you need to enter into a subagency agreement and set up sales channels. This could be a specialized website, message boards, social media.
Recently, specialized services and affiliate programs have appeared online that allow you to sell tickets without leaving your home. The organizers of such resources regularly conduct training webinars on the topic: how to make money by selling railway and air tickets on the Internet, which allows even a person who is not familiar with the peculiarities of transportation to start a business in this area.
Buying and booking tickets online is gaining popularity among consumers. Potential entrepreneurs who are thinking about it should take a closer look at this area. This is one of the few working business ideas with minimal investment and great prospects.
The volume of the entire event ticket market (purchased offline and online) at the end of 2013 amounted to $4.1 billion, and by 2016 it could grow to $7 billion.*
At the same time, revolutionary changes are being observed in the structure of ticket sales: according to forecasts, the share of online sales will grow from 15 to 45% in just 2 years.
The question arises: how to make money by selling tickets to your events online?
Today, more and more people are getting used to solving issues using the Internet: looking for cheap flights, paying for utilities and purchases, following city news and, of course, buying tickets to interesting events without leaving home.
You develop a habit of convenience, that is, online payment in just a few clicks.
What happens if, instead of the “buy a ticket” button, you are offered to order it by phone or send a request by email? Between 30 and 50% of potential participants simply won't bother and will look elsewhere. Or, having postponed the inconvenient process, they will not make a purchase for various reasons: they changed their mind, got sick, forgot, had other plans, etc.
At the same time, selling tickets online allows you to “snatch” the user at the moment of his greatest readiness to complete a transaction and significantly increases conversion.
Thus, the question “to sell or not to sell tickets via the Internet” is not worth it - definitely to sell. But how to effectively sell tickets for a concert or other event online? Today there are already several methods, and we will try to help you understand them.
What should a high-quality online ticket sales system look like?
The system you choose should allow for different payment methods: each of us has established preferences. In this case, it is necessary to be able to pay by bank card (the most popular method), as well as by invoice from the company (for business and educational events).
You shouldn’t limit users to just one payment option if you’re trying to increase conversions: for example, you should provide participants at business events with not only the option of paying by invoice, but also by card. Often the process of reconciling accounts in companies is not quick, and therefore it is easier for the participant to pay for the ticket himself, and then compensate for these funds from the company’s budget.
In addition to different payment methods, a quality system should have the following options:
- the ability to customize the registration form and have access to the data of your participants,
- setting up a ticket program (discounts, promo codes, different categories of tickets, early registration, etc.),
- setting up ticket booking deadlines and a system of reminding users about the need to pay within this period,
- directly an electronic ticket as a result of the purchase.
How to organize online sales correctly? Basic methods
Below is an overview of popular integration tools that will allow you to sell tickets in the most convenient and effective way, depending on the type of your events and the format of their placement on the Internet.
1. Universal
How to start selling tickets if you don’t have your own website yet? You can create a landing page for registration and ticket sales and use a link to it wherever you announce the event.
Advantages:
- simple, fast, does not require IT knowledge
- suitable for any resource
If you have a website or a separate event landing page, then the optimal solution is a registration widget. The widget code is usually provided free of charge by various online ticketing services. All you have to do is place it in the right place on your site.
Advantages:
- maximum sales thanks to the ability to purchase a ticket “here and now” (without leaving your website)
- nice appearance
Do you hold several events and announce them all on the main page of your website/blog or in a special section? Then your option is to place a “Buy ticket” button in each announcement, clicking on which opens the registration widget in a new window.
Advantages:
- allows you to quickly move from interest in an event to a targeted action, i.e. buying a ticket
- doesn't take up much space
If you don’t want to spend a lot of time publishing events, just place a poster module on your website, customize its appearance, and all your announcements, along with registration widgets, will be automatically loaded.
Advantages:
- participants will be able to purchase a ticket not for one event, but for several at once
- no need to develop a special design for your poster and copy the announcement of each event
5. Tools for social media
How to sell concert or cinema tickets on social networks? If you run a public page on VKontakte or Facebook, be sure to install an application for purchasing tickets: both of these social networks have recently released an interface for installing a button for selling tickets (physical sales will take place through the specialized ticket service you have chosen).
A change in plans, a sudden illness, or the cancellation of an upcoming event can all be reasons that prompt you to cancel your pre-purchased plane ticket. Since most people today buy air tickets via the Internet, it is necessary to know the procedure for returning them. How to return a plane ticket purchased online? You can return it quite simply, the main thing is to follow a few simple rules.
The agency will inform you under what conditions a refund of the amount paid at the time of booking may be made. Please note that this will only be done in accordance with the rate conditions accepted at the time of booking online. Follow the steps below.
Identification Registration Replace location Print landing card. . Select flight number. All your flight information will be displayed: date, departure time, flight number, departure airport, arrival airport, class of service and carrier code.
Air ticket delivery conditions
Rest assured, you will be able to return the ticket you paid for online back to the air carrier, but The amount of refund for a returned ticket will depend on three factors:
- Airfare;
- The period of time remaining before departure;
- Reason for return.
The so-called “tariff” is the conditions for return and exchange, which you must familiarize yourself with when buying a ticket online. Since most people overlook it when purchasing, they simply don’t know what to do when they need to return the money they spent. You can find the “fare” of your ticket on the airline’s website. Each company has its own return conditions, but there are several common points:
If your route also includes a flight connection, information about it will also be displayed. You can complete check-in formalities for both flights, for which a single boarding pass will be issued. Likewise, if your return flight is scheduled within a maximum of 24 hours from your travel start date, you can also complete the check-in formalities for that flight.
A list of all passengers registered in your booking for whom you would like to register will be displayed. If you want to add a passenger to the list with a different reservation, click the "Add Passenger" button and enter the required identification information.
- How more expensive ticket, the less the fine for its return;
- The sooner you contact the airline for a refund, the greater the amount you will be able to reimburse.
Advice: if you are late for your flight or for some reason you are detained by security, you have the right to return the ticket you purchased online even after the plane has departed. In this case, you can reschedule the flight - such a decision will be more profitable than a return.
You can complete check-in formalities for registered passengers at the same time. All information about the new passenger will be displayed. Some destinations will require additional information required by local authorities. If this information is incomplete or not filled in correctly, you will not be able to print your boarding card, only your check-in confirmation where you will receive your airport boarding card at the check-in counter for your flight. It is also necessary to confirm that each passenger has all identification and travel documents relevant to the country of destination, and that he knows information about goods prohibited from carriage.
If there is more than a day left before departure, the airline often retains only a small refund fee, refunding almost the full cost of the ticket (especially in business class).
Article 108 of the Russian Air Code stipulates the airline’s obligation to return the entire amount for the ticket. However, the grace period clause gives companies the right to withhold a fee or impose a fine if you return the ticket after the deadline they set. The amount of the commission or fine is determined by the carrier, but the law states that it should not be higher than 25%.
After filling in the information at this stage, your formalities have been successfully completed. You are automatically assigned a number for your seat on the plane. You can choose a different location by simply clicking the "Change Location" button. You can also change the passenger seats you have checked in for from the previous step.
Available locations are displayed on the plane map. When selecting a specific location, it is possible that the location may not be available. Some seats may already be reserved by other passengers. The company also reserves a number of seats for passengers with special needs, such as families with children or people with disabilities.
Less than a day before departure? When you return an air ticket, you are unlikely to get back more than 75% of the original price. Try to submit your application at least 4 hours before check-in to be able to receive at least part of the amount paid.
It is worth mentioning that there are tickets on sale that are prohibited from being returned (non ref, non refundable). As a rule, the cheapest tickets purchased via the Internet for promotions on special conditions fall into this category. The company will not return money for such purchases, but may offer to reschedule the departure date to a later date. However, the Air Code of the Russian Federation does not define non-refundable tickets, so you can always fight for your rights in court.
Please note: you can only change location once. Once your boarding card has been issued, you will not be able to change your seat on the plane. A printed document is boarding pass, and you need to have it on you when you arrive at the airport. Border police representatives may request, in addition to the boarding card and this document; In some cases, you will only be able to print a “Confirmation” of your check-in, which will provide you with a boarding pass at the airport check-in counter for your flight.
- Be sure to print the boarding card in two copies.
- It is recommended that you print the Transaction Summary and Receipt document.
- Don't forget to take this document with you when you arrive at the airport.
The reason why an electronic ticket is issued is also of great importance. If this is a forced step, and you can prove this with the appropriate certificates, then it is likely that the carrier will meet you halfway and pay the bulk of the cost, despite the proximity of the departure date.
Advice: if the intermediary refuses to return the money for the ticket, send a corresponding request, accompanied by a letter from the agent, directly to the airline. If the carrier insists that the ticket is “non-refundable,” you can write a letter to the Federal Air Transport Agency with a printout of the email correspondence that took place - the main thing is to do this one day before the expected departure date.
In this case, you can collect this boarding card from the check-in counter for your flight to the airport before check-in closes. Baggage transfer at the airport. If you do not have luggage for your horse, you can go directly to the boarding gate, respecting the time restrictions on your boarding pass. At the airport, check the designated gate for boarding your flight. The border check process may take longer, so make sure you have enough time to do this before the boarding deadline.
Are you having trouble completing online registration formalities? If you are unable to complete the registration formalities online, this will be done at the airport. At the counter you must indicate your route, your frequent travel card and your passport and we will handle all the necessary formalities.
Electronic ticket return procedure
Some people believe that in order to complete the refund procedure, you need to print out a ticket purchased online and contact the airline office. We hasten to please you: everything is much simpler.
You need to find a ticket refund application form on the airline’s website and fill it out, or contact the intermediary from whom the ticket was purchased. If you cannot find the special form, simply write an email to the address listed in the “Contacts” section. To complete the return form you will need the following information:
For any problem encountered during registration, please fill out the form. Unregister for mobile registration. If you would like to cancel your registration, please fill out the form or use the cancellation feature by going to the online registration section. If you do not contact the airline, penalties may apply depending on the price of your ticket.
You can choose from thousands of flights, charters, excursions, hotels and car rental companies. The system will send you one confirmation email for all booking types you have made. How do I know if my booking is confirmed?
- Ticket details (document number, flight number, booking code, date and exact time departure);
- Passport scan;
- Receipt confirming the purchase (a bank statement will do).
Traditionally, the airline will return the money in the same way the purchase was paid for - the amount will be credited to the same bank account or to the same e-wallet. The period for consideration of your application will most likely not exceed 10 days, but in some cases the company may take up to a month to clarify all the circumstances.
Once you complete your booking, which includes both the airline, hotel and car segment, you are directed to a confirmation screen. This includes the entire itinerary, including takeoff and landing times, pickup point and full hotel address. You can easily print the route and save it.
The system will send you one confirmation email for all booking types containing the booking code and itinerary. We recommend that you save this email or write your booking code if you have any questions about this before you travel.
Today, online shopping has become very popular. They buy everything - from apartments and dachas to a loaf of bread.
This situation also affected air tickets, but what to do if you cannot fly for some reason?
So how can you return air tickets purchased online?
If in reality it is enough just to go to the ticket office and return the ticket (by presenting some documents). But doesn’t this mean that you need to go to the airport and ask for a ticket back?
How can I make a mistake when booking? To check your reservation, follow the link. From here you can print or email your booking itinerary or simply view the information on the screen. Enter your travel dates and route in the appropriate fields. On the next page you will see a list of available flights at that time along with the corresponding fare. Tariff regime. On the next page you will be directed to the passenger information page.
However, the clause does not provide any guarantee of the rate and date of issue. An e-ticket will be issued at the same time as your booking. The following payment methods are accepted: Offline Payment - By selecting this option, you reserve the selected service free of charge and you will keep the reservation until the date specified by the airline in the Fare Rules. Online payment means that you have decided to pay with a bank card or online banking. Once a ticket is issued, depending on the fare selected, the airline may impose various penalties for canceling or changing travel details. The airline has the right to change the booking conditions while the ticket is not issued. . One way: one trip from one destination to another.
You can, but you will lose a lot of time, so it is better to return your tickets online.
Cheap flights online
Scam sites
The first thing you need to remember is that you must read the terms of agreement on the website where you buy the ticket.
Example: Bucharest - Paris. Round Trip: A journey from one destination to another that begins and ends at the same point. Example: Bucharest - Paris - Bucharest. Example: Bucharest - Timisoara. Yes, just enter your departure and arrival airports and you'll be given access to a series of flights that suit your needs.
Sometimes circumstances change and you need to change your aircraft reservation. How much you can change depends on the type of ticket. In these situations, please contact us. Non-refundable means that if you want to cancel or change your flight booking, you will not be able to refund the amount of the ticket you have already purchased.
Sometimes you come across very unscrupulous sites - scammers who supposedly “sell” tickets, but in fact they simply scam people.
So remember - be sure to buy tickets through trusted, official airline websites, popular search aggregators, like: www.skyscanner.ru or www.aviasales.ru. But let's get back to business.
If you need to cancel a ticket that has already been issued, please notify us as soon as possible. Sometimes you can get your money back for unused tickets, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee this. To find out whether the money can be refunded or not, please contact us and tell us your booking code and we will inform you about your ticket status according to the terms and conditions of that booking.
Many companies insist that passengers confirm their flights 72 hours before departure. For passengers over 12 years of age, tickets can be created and issued on the website, but special conditions apply for children under 18 years of age. The youth may also travel by plane with an airline representative, which must be notarized by the parents or legal guardian. This certificate must be registered in the presence of both parents. The minor must have a valid ID; birth certificates are not accepted by border authorities.
Instructions for returning an air ticket
- Online consultant
If the site where you purchased your ticket has an online consultant who answers customer questions in a chat, ask him all the questions you are interested in - he (s) is obliged to answer them.
Don't be afraid to include your email or phone number if the consultant asks you to.
In addition to the documents required by current Romanian law, the minor's parents or guardian must complete the form received upon registration. It contains a statement that the airline has the right to transport the minor to their destination where they will be handed over by a legally designated person.
According to the airline, unaccompanied children must be at least 5 years old. Companies may also apply age restrictions for certain routes. The number of minors traveling with an accompanying person is limited, and airlines may refuse participation if the number of pre-assigned special seats is exceeded. If you book a flight for a minor with a flight attendant, make sure the minor is properly prepared.
Call the number that is listed on the website where you booked the ticket and they will definitely tell you how to return the ticket and what the penalty is according to your air ticket fare.
- Airline
Call the airline office from which you purchased the ticket. The airline's phone number is always listed on its official website.
Has a valid passport or ID. Confirmed the airline's seal. Has the appropriate visa. He will be accompanied to the airport by the adult nominated at the time of booking. It is taken to its final destination by the adult specified at the time of booking.
When creating a profile, you can configure table settings. You can select any table type from the list to the right of this field. You can choose between diabetic flour, kosher, low sodium, low cholesterol, vegetarian, and more. We will provide your airline with your request, but we cannot guarantee confirmation of the request. We recommend that you confirm your preferred meal type with the airline check-in counter.
In this case, you need to provide the details of the passengers whose tickets you intend to return.
You just need to clarify the Airline’s commission and your amount of the fine for returning air tickets.
It varies from operator to operator, so be sure to pay attention to commission rates.
Printed copy electronic air ticket there is no need to carry or send it anywhere, since it does not play any significant role.
- Travel agency
If you are flying on a tourist package, then when handing over your air ticket you will have to contact the relevant travel agency and air carrier agency, but in this case the entire tourist trip will be cancelled.
It should also be taken into account that in such cases the commission will be higher, and sometimes the ticket cannot be returned at all.
However, if the air ticket cannot be returned, then it must be written there in the conditions of purchase from the agency or carrier. But it is worth warning that the money is returned after a certain time.
The main thing to remember: when purchasing any air ticket (online or offline), you must carefully read all agreements and conditions, and also buy tickets only on trusted or official websites.
Forced return
Sometimes it happens that you need to urgently return a ticket.
In what situations does this occur - a sudden change in passengers' plans, a flight delay that is too long, sudden serious problems with the passenger's health.
In order to return an air ticket urgently, you must present the necessary supporting documents - “change of your plans”, refusal to issue a visa, hospitalization certificate, and so on.
But it is worth considering that a certain commission is charged for returning a ticket; if an urgent refund is required, the commission will be much higher.
The carrier is given an average of one month to make a decision, but you can rush them for an additional commission rate.
As soon as the company recognizes the return of the tickets as involuntary, you will be refunded the entire amount spent minus the commission.
As stated above, for an involuntary refund of an air ticket, all you need is a passport and any document that must reflect the reason for the “urgent refund”.
Return deadlines
Return times vary:
- Review of the application usually takes from several hours for an urgent return to a week for a regular application.
- Requesting an application to the airline (if necessary) can take from several days to 3 months. The airline should not ignore your request, so after 3 months you should receive some kind of response, if ignored, you can sue the company or try to contact them by other methods.
- Refunds are made on average within 4 days, but with an additional payment it can be done faster. Money is transferred to a card, in cash (via an ATM or company branch), through electronic wallets (WebMoney, Yandex.Money, and so on).
Voluntary refund of air ticket
A voluntary return differs from a forced return only in that the passenger returns his ticket completely at his own request and without having the reasons given above and the necessary documents.
To hand over a ticket voluntarily, you need to have a passport and an account where the money will be credited. But in this case, commissions and various sanctions towards the passenger are inevitable.
It is also worth considering that the higher the class of ticket (economy, business, first class), the lower the penalties will be if it is returned or changes are made to it at the discretion of the passenger.
As for the terms for consideration of the application, they are still the same and you can also rush the airline by paying additional money.
You will have to present a scan of your passport and indicate your account (card, bank account, electronic wallets).
You can look at all the conditions for voluntary surrender of an air ticket in the relevant sections of the websites where you book the air ticket or contact a consultant for help (if one is available).
You should be asked to leave contact information (telephone, e-mail, residential address) and fill in some other information (passport series and number, and so on).
You can fill out the form without fear, since on trusted or corporate sites, user privacy is always maintained at the proper level.
Among other things, you may be asked to appear at the nearest branch of the airline (if you bought the ticket directly on the airline’s website), in which case it is better not to linger or be late.
The terms are still the same as with a forced return, but penalties do apply. The lower your flight class, the higher the fines will be.
Fines range from 200 to 1000 rubles (depending on the air carrier and class).
Get travel health insurance
Refund rules for children's air tickets
In fact, there are no differences as such from the return of an adult air ticket. You will have to provide documents for yourself and the child (passport, birth certificate, SNILS, insurance policy, etc.).
It should also be noted that various penalties and commissions are much lower or absent altogether (it all depends on the airline).
Payment is transferred in the same ways as in the case of an adult ticket.
What should I do if my return ticket is not accepted?
Indeed, since 2015, so-called non-refundable air tickets have appeared.
Since June 2015, Russian law allows Russian airlines do not refund money for air tickets if the passenger purchased air tickets at “Budget” and “Promo”, from “Transaero” - Promo, “Tourist” and “Discount” tariffs or so-called “non-refundable air tickets”.
But what if your case is different, perhaps they are ignoring you or trying to deceive you?
If you are ignored, try reapplying or contact the airline or the site administration.
Usually they always leave their contact information in a visible place; if the contact information is not available anywhere, then contact a consultant. But if there is no way at all to contact the site where the air tickets were purchased, then you will have to go to their nearest office.
If you continue to ignore it, you have the right to take legal action against the airline or booking site.
When you are charged with inflated commissions and fines, I recommend that you read the contracts and various instructions directly when purchasing a ticket.
But if you are asked to pay higher than those specified in the contract or higher than the standard commissions in the country, then you will have to either fly or write complaints to the company management and file lawsuits.
Unexpected ticket refund
- You ended up in the hospital shortly before departure, so you won’t be able to fly somewhere, what should you do?
In this case, ask for a hospitalization certificate or any other document confirming your state of health.
In this case, you will be able to return the air ticket with minimal penalties, since the return will be considered forced.
- You were denied a visa to another country shortly before departure.
In this case, you can also issue a forced return with minimal losses.
You just need to have your passport, a document confirming the visa refusal and your account.
Also, if your visa is delayed, ask for proof of the delay. Having the necessary documents, you can return your ticket or reschedule your flight.
- Has your close relative died or become seriously ill?
Then you are also allowed to return your air ticket urgently or change the departure date at minimal cost. This will require necessary documents including the death certificate.
If your plans suddenly change dramatically without the above reasons, then you can also return or make the necessary adjustments to the ticket, but the costs will be higher.
To do this, you will need a passport, international passport and visa (if you flew abroad) and your own account where the money will be transferred.
- Was your flight canceled or delayed for a long time?
In this case, your ticket will be returned automatically at no cost. To return a ticket, you will only need a passport and the ticket itself (in the case of an electronic ticket, you will need to present a proof of purchase).
In conclusion
When buying air tickets both online and offline, always read all the contracts that are provided to you.
Don't hesitate to ask consultants and sellers. You can also ask directly: “What should I do if I need to return my air ticket? "
If the consultant avoids tricky questions, then I recommend looking for other more reliable and responsive sites that sell air tickets, or buying a ticket directly in reality.
Article contributed by Christina Endless.
Nowadays, you can purchase tickets by contacting any office of a tour operator or airline. Here they will help you choose best option by price and time. There are no longer such queues as in Soviet times, thanks to a sufficient number of ticket offices.
Air ticket offices meet in major cities much more often than railway ones. This is explained by the fact that the Ministry of Railways is still a monopolist. At the stations there are queues and a lot of resellers offering tickets for more popular flights.
Today in Russia 10-15% of all tickets are sold travel companies. The percentage increases when it comes to international travel. If you buy a ticket from a travel agency, it is not necessary to have a travel package. 50-70% of the cost of the “package” is tickets. Air travel is much more important and more expensive than booking a hotel and organizing leisure activities.
From the outside it may seem that you just need to rent a room and install a computer to open an airline ticket office. In reality, everything is much more complicated. The most important thing here is information. Organizing access to information sources involves many harsh conditions. To sell plane tickets, you must be an agent or subagent of the airline whose tickets you are going to sell. All companies have their own requirements. In order to become an agent of a foreign company, you need to register as an accredited agent of the IATA (International Transport Association). This association places very strict requirements on safe equipment and on the level of training of personnel who will be involved in issuing tickets. In addition, IATA accepts guarantees only from a certain range of foreign banks. For membership in IATA, a deposit of $20,000 is required. For a small agency, these conditions are practically impossible to meet. In this case, you can conclude a subagency agreement.
Agency agreements allow you to issue tickets on the air carrier's forms (stocks). The airline's primary concern is the safety of the effluent. To avoid loss or damage to waste, their owners check the reliability of their potential agent’s safe equipment (and, in general, the conditions for storing and filling out forms) and the qualifications of the personnel. If wastewater is damaged, a fine will be charged to the agency. The amount of the fine depends on the airline. Approximately $200-500 per form. This is to obtain financial guarantees; in case of termination of the contract, the deposit is returned.
However, in order to become an airline agent, it is not enough just to become an accredited agent of IATA or the Transport Clearing House (for agents of Russian airlines).
It is very important to gain access to global reservation systems (“Amadeus”, “Gabriel”, “Galileo”, “Star” or “Sirena”, for railway transportation - “Express”). You can connect one-time or permanently. Such systems allow you to book seats on any flight from anywhere in the world. Access to such systems costs $40-60 per month and $40-100 for a one-time connection (depending on the operator).
You can become an airline agent only if you have experience in organizing flights and a client base, otherwise you will not be of interest to the carrier. It is not recommended to use “cheap” transportation services. “Playing” on the price difference major airlines, you can save $6,000-10,000 per flight or $30 per ticket.
The bulk of flights are observed in holidays: New Year, May holidays. Due to the fact that liners often return empty, ticket prices vary. For example, a ticket to Egypt on regular days costs about $170, on holidays - $260-280.
If a travel agency cannot afford the agency of several major air carriers, they resort to subagency agreements. You can become a subagent of any airline only with its permission and on the terms established by the company. Although these requirements are no longer as severe as agency requirements. There are subagents, as well as commission agents.
They receive approximately 6-7% of the ticket price. The company itself receives 5-7% as a commission. However, many airlines have a bonus system. But because tariff plans are constantly growing, even large companies it is difficult to receive bonuses regularly.
The practice of selling tickets online has long existed. A lot of Internet agencies have appeared and you need to be able to “stand out from the crowd.” Thus, one of these agencies offers booking air tickets for international and domestic airlines, hotels, and car rentals via the Internet. It has a specially developed program that allows you to process a huge volume of applications and make reservations in real time (it immediately reports the availability of seats and the price of the ticket). With such a system, you can see savings in money (booking a ticket without intermediaries), time (filling out a simple form and fast delivery of the ticket by courier), freedom of choice (dozens of flight options and mass special offers). In addition, this system allows you to receive a ticket not only with a courier, but also independently, at the airport or in one of the cities of Russia (even not a very large one). However, such a service is provided for a fee.
The system allows small travel agencies to serve their clients better. It also provides for commissions for travel agencies.
There are difficulties with booking tickets for charter flights. Information about them is available only from the travel agency that organized it. Tickets for the "charts" are cheaper than for regular flights. Now, a number of Internet sites allow you not only to purchase tickets for “charts”, but also to compare the prices of most carriers and choose the cheapest and most convenient option.
The situation is different in the case of booking train tickets, because... MPS is a monopolist. Here tickets are not booked, but issued, which, in principle, is the same thing.
Moscow railway(Moscow Railways) entrusted the conclusion of contracts to the Moscow Railway Agency (MZhA). The agreement concluded by the tour operator with MZhA stipulates that a railway ticket sales terminal will be located in the company’s office and allows the sale of tickets for domestic Russian routes.
The MFA has no less requirements than IATA. There are three stages of accreditation: 1 - accreditation of the agent’s right to have a contract, 2 - accreditation of the point of sale itself, 3 - accreditation of employees who will work at the point of sale in this company.
Travel agencies set their own fees, because... MHA does not provide commissions. The fee for each company is different, approximately 120 rubles. from the ticket.
There is one nuance in the ticket business. During the season there are too many tours and in order to attract clients, travel agencies may not charge the 5% sales tax. The fact is that when purchasing a ticket from an air carrier, travel company How legal entity does not pay this tax. In theory, this tax should be collected from the client, but...
So, to summarize, we can say that it is more profitable to sell air tickets, because... MJA does not make commissions. Also, it is much more profitable to have not a depositary relationship with the airline, but to enjoy the maximum degree of loyalty on the part of the airline.
Based on an article by Oleg Cresp published in the Business Journal
One way to earn extra money online is to sell air tickets. Becoming a partner for such sales is not at all difficult, earnings from selling air tickets is not limited, and anyone can try their hand for free. First, you will need to register in a service that has an affiliate program that sells airline tickets. For any person who wants to try his hand at an affiliate program for selling air tickets, he just needs to become this very partner of one of these agencies or a partner of a search engine that sells air tickets. And, of course, the website of such an agency should have an affiliate interface in a version in which it would be best suited for a beginner. You can sell airline tickets with or without the help of a company.
Earn money by selling air tickets from your website
To get started sell air tickets from your website, you need to place advertising banners on it. You will either make them yourself, or place ready-made ones that will be provided to you. Also, the banner that you place on your site should not be large and intrusive, and its design should be better adjusted to your site. It will be more effective if your website is relevant to the travel theme. Therefore, it would be a good idea to post several articles on it about tourism, flights or attractions of different countries.
Earn money by selling air tickets without a website
If you do not own your own website, but have decided to do your business by selling air tickets, then an important condition for having sales is to ensure a large flow of buyers to the airline search site using your referral links. You can place such links, for example, on your accounts on different social networks. You can post on various forums, but be careful not to get banned.
Also, to promote your referral links, you can use paid advertising using, for example, Google Adwords or Yandex Direct.
Affiliate program for the sale of air tickets
There is a good and reliable affiliate service AviaSales. This search engine allows anyone to search for tickets from more than 750 airlines to travel anywhere in the world. This system has an affiliate program Travelpayouts.com. This site has created maximum conditions for partners. Also here you will find detailed sales statistics for your account. Payments occur once a month to any e-wallet you specify.
Registration is simple. You must fill out a special form in which you will need to indicate your first and last name, as well as the number of the electronic wallet to which payments will be made. After filling out the form, an email with a link will be sent to the email address you specified; you follow it and activate your account. Next you go to your personal account, where you will find everything you need to organize the sale of air tickets as well as possible. You will have individual links at your disposal, and you can place them on various websites, forums or social networks. Of course, without any spam.
The condition for receiving your affiliate reward is the purchase of an air ticket by a client who follows your link. This client is also assigned to you for a whole month. The profit of the airline ticket search engine is approximately equal to 2% of the cost of the air ticket itself; the system shares 80% of its income with the partner.
The amount of earnings from selling air tickets depends only on you, as well as when working with any affiliate program. If you put a banner on a site without visitors and wait for a miracle, then the miracle will not happen and you will not be able to make money. Pay attention to the numbers. Over the 5 years of operation, this affiliate program paid out 622 million affiliate rubles. Here are the TOP 10 for earning money in this area of internet business: 
Please note that your success in making money selling airline tickets will largely depend on your patience, perseverance, and ability to independently master the basics of online advertising. quite popular and this is one of the real ways
