Different fares between STA branches and online?

chinnie

Hi,

I searched a plane ticket and found a good fare on the STA Travel website. In order to save 5 pounds of registered post, I went down to its branch on High Street. The staff said the seats are available (I assume same fare class also) but at a higher price. They said there're some online fares that they don't sell.

My question is if this is possible that the branch will sell the same ticket at a higher price to reap up their commission. I think their words didn't sound convincing to me.

Thanks,

DrFluffy

chinnie wrote:

Hi,

I searched a plane ticket and found a good fare on the STA Travel website. In order to save 5 pounds of registered post, I went down to its branch on High Street. The staff said the seats are available (I assume same fare class also) but at a higher price. They said there're some online fares that they don't sell.

My question is if this is possible that the branch will sell the same ticket at a higher price to reap up their commission. I think their words didn't sound convincing to me.

Thanks,

For you to go into a shop means that STA have to pay rent on the shop unit, heating, lighting, water, staff costs etc... These costs are far in excess of those to run an automated server system... They have to cover these costs somehow and this is how...

Most airlines do it - cheap if you book on-line without having to speak to a humanoid, more expensive if you via the telephone directly or book via a travel agent in person...

You should be grateful that STA staff were professional enough to tell you there were cheaper online prices...

chinnie

Agreed. I was not familiar with how the industry worked, considering there's a price match scheme in place on many high street stores.