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I'm about to buy some long range tickets for a group, and when I went shopping I was surprised that the price quoted by eDreams was actually lower than the price of all the others, including the airline itself of my choice.

Normally I buy the ticket directly from the airline and have always believed that this is the way to go. I'm aware of common traps to trick clients into buying a ticket, just to discover that the luggage fee multiplies by 2 the original deal.

In this case it would mean a discount over thousand, and I'm not eager to let a deal pass. This 1,000 could well be spent in enhancing the vacation. But could this be true? Does eDreams have some kind of deal to guarantee better prices for people buying through it? Is buying directly by the airlines sometimes not the best choice?

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2 Answers 2

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But could this be true?

Yes.

Does eDreams have some kind of deal to guarantee better prices for people buying through it?

Yes.

The details of the agreement are almost certainly commercially sensitive and not made public.

I imagine the airline might benefit financially by having a block payment far in advance, and some shifting of the commercial risk of empty seats onto a third party.

Is buying directly by the airlines sometimes not the best choice?

Even if you are a frequent flyer, as an individual you almost certainly buy far fewer flights a year than does eDreams. They have greater purchasing power.

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eDreams' price lower than the airline itself

eDreams' sometimes will not issue a ticket in time for the flight (since they take up to 24 hours to issue a ticket), so that's one way they make money from the customers, which allows them to sometimes have prices lower than the airline itself.

Here is the eDreams customer service confirming that ticketing may take up to 24 hours, which means that if one books a flight that departs within 24 hours, then one may receive the ticket too late.

enter image description here

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  • If the customer buys a flight and eDreams does not deliver it, surely they will have to refund the cost, either voluntarily or through a credit card charge back?
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jun 4 at 4:52
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    Even if it's true, it doesn't sound the basis for a business model that allows them to routinely sell tickets much cheaper than the airline
    – matt freake
    Commented Jun 4 at 5:56
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    @FranckDernoncourt If you buy a ticket from eDreams, and eDreams does not deliver the ticket before the departure of the flight, you have a rock solid case to get a full refund.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jun 4 at 11:25
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    This seems like a complaint about eDreams dressed up as an answer to an unrelated question.
    – Sneftel
    Commented Jun 4 at 13:56
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    @FranckDernoncourt none of which are relevant to the question of "how are they able to sell these tickets cheaper than the airline?". I don't doubt eDreams are rubbish, but I'm struggling to see how this is a useful answer.
    – matt freake
    Commented Jun 4 at 15:06

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