Debating Fairness of Low Web Fares

In her article “Travel Agents Cry Foul Over Internet Fare Deals” (Travel Insider, Feb. 17), Jane Engle raises an important issue: Are Internet fares fair to consumers?

The answer is yes. Suggesting that Internet fares aren’t fair overlooks a basic economic fact: It simply costs the airlines less to sell tickets online. Orbitz, for example, enables airlines to reduce the cost of the middleman and pass the savings on to consumers in the form of discounted Web fares. In this case, the middlemen are the computer reservations systems that traditional travel agents use but that add $12 to $15 to the cost of an air ticket, besides the commission charged by the agent.

Consumers know that buying direct saves them money, and they have proved more than willing to shop around to take advantage of those savings. That’s certainly the case with Internet fares, which provide discounts of up to 75% off other available fares.

More important, the U.S. Department of Transportation has agreed that when airlines sell certain fares only by the Internet or other channels, it promotes competition to the benefit of travelers. The DOT ruled in October 2000 that if airlines were required to make Internet fares available to offline travel agents, which add commission and computer reservations system costs, fares would increase. And that would be bad for consumers.

CAROL JOUZAITIS

Vice President, Corporate Communications

Orbitz