What Is a Consolidator?
Definition: A consolidator is a wholesaler, typically for air tickets, that negotiates bulk or net fares with airlines and resells them to travel agencies, often providing ticketing for agencies without their own IATA accreditation.
How consolidators work
A consolidator sits between airlines and travel agencies. It holds airline contracts and, usually, IATA accreditation. Agencies book through it, by phone, email or an online B2B portal, and the consolidator issues the tickets.
The consolidator earns from the difference between its airline price and its price to agencies, or from service fees. The agency adds its own markup when selling to the traveller.
What agencies get from a consolidator
- Ticketing without accreditation: the consolidator issues the ticket.
- Access to fares: net and private fares a small agency could not contract alone.
- Support: help with changes, refunds and schedule changes.
- Payment terms: prepaid, deposit or credit, depending on the consolidator.
Why it matters for travel agencies
For a new or small agency, a consolidator replaces airline contracts and IATA accreditation, which have fixed costs and obligations. The trade-off is dependence: your prices, fare access and after-sales service are only as good as your consolidator's. Compare more than one on the routes you sell most.
Example
Hypothetical: a two-person agency has no IATA accreditation. It books a group of five through its consolidator's portal, pays from its account, and receives five e-tickets issued by the consolidator.
How QuickOTA fits
QuickOTA works with agencies that do not have IATA accreditation. QuickOTA issues the ticket for your booking. You book in the free B2B Panel and pay from a prepaid wallet with no minimum deposit. Read How to Choose a B2B Flight Supplier.