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Consolidators and wholesalers sell airline tickets either at a discount or at a much higher commission than the airlines will give you. These companies provide a means for the airlines to sell large numbers of tickets at one time. Essentially, the wholesaler makes a commitment to sell a certain volume of tickets in return for a lower price, negotiating the best deal directly with the airlines. Although the airline is, in a sense, setting up competition for itself, the economics of the arrangement are worth the lost revenue.

Airlines never used to admit they engaged in such practices and would tell you, without blinking, that only they sold the airline tickets and that pricing was completely standardized. Airline employees would intimate that tickets not supplied by the airline were probably illegal imports from some distant country. Now, however, some airline reservation departments will tell you that you can get a better price from XYZ Consolidator and Wholesale Company. In effect, consolidators and wholesalers have become the reservation department for some of the airlines, who can then reduce staffing expenses.