The high rhythm of modern life makes it more and more relevant business related to transportation. One of the relatively simple types activities in this area are the opening of a cash register and.
Airline tickets are always in demand, and modern technologies their design allows them to be sold even by those who do not have large start-up capital. To find out how to open an airline ticket office and how much you can earn from it, read on.
There are currently two ways to open an airline ticket office.
The first and more complex one is concluding an agency agreement directly with the carrier airline and direct sale of tickets. This option allows you to get the most profitable terms cooperation (minimum cost of tickets), and therefore reach good level arrived. But the agency agreement presupposes a number of strict requirements, which are quite difficult to meet, especially for a novice entrepreneur:
- With economic justification;
- compliance of the cash register premises with certain standards;
- availability of trained personnel;
- fulfillment of the sales plan, while most air carriers oblige agents to buy a certain volume of tickets broken down by destination.
This option for opening an airline ticket office requires about 600 thousand rubles. at the start. These funds will be used to prepare the premises, conclude the necessary contracts and agreements, train and improve the qualifications of personnel, etc.
The second way to make money selling air tickets is to enter into a subagency agreement with an existing airline agent.
The advantages of this format are the absence of serious requirements regarding the organization of the work process. In addition, an entrepreneur can enter into subagency agreements with several agents, which will allow him to choose the most profitable offer for your clients.
To start working under a subagency agreement, a minimum of funds is required. 100-150 thousand rubles are enough to open. Approximately the same amount will be required for the first 2-3 months of work, until a permanent client base is formed.
The World of Business website team recommends that all readers take the Lazy Investor Course, where you will learn how to put your personal finances in order and learn how to earn passive income. No enticements, only high-quality information from a practicing investor (from real estate to cryptocurrency). The first week of training is free! Registration for a free week of training
Features of the airline ticket sales business
If the question of how to open an airline ticket office is relatively simple - it’s enough to choose a large ticket sales agent and enter into an agreement with him, then further business activities may cause certain difficulties, which are not always obvious at the start of a business.
There is always a demand for air tickets, but in order to attract customers to your ticket office, you need to make some efforts. Experience shows that it takes three to four months to promote a cash register. A well-chosen location, a good advertising campaign, and flexibility in working with visitors ensure the formation of a circle regular customers, which brings a significant part of the profit.
Important! Cash desks located in shopping and business centers, as well as in the immediate vicinity of such establishments, boast the highest sales.
There are certain nuances in the calculation of subagency remuneration; the following options for its calculation are currently used:
- fixed amount from each ticket;
- percentage of the cost of each ticket;
- percentage of total sales revenue for a certain period.
With the development of the electronic ticketing system, many air ticket offices began to work according to the following scheme. On the agent's booking resource, the subagent places a certain amount of money, which is debited when purchasing a ticket, and the subagent sets its own cost. The difference between the ticket price from the agent and the sale price from the subagent is the latter’s remuneration. As a rule, its size ranges from 2 to 4 percent of the ticket price.
By the way, small size remuneration determines another feature of this business - the need for a large volume of sales. On average, to cover the current costs of operating an air ticket office, it is necessary to sell at least two hundred tickets monthly.
Development prospects
The business of selling air tickets is quite specific, but at the same time, it is very interesting and promising. With enough attention to it, it will not only bring good profit, but will also provide an opportunity to reach new level.
Many of those who recently thought about how to open an air ticket office in Moscow are already confidently working and forming air ticket sales networks that extend beyond the Moscow Ring Road. By the way, launching such a business in the capital is practically no different from opening it in any of the regions, except that in Moscow there are more high level competition in this area.
This business easy to replicate, so a well-thought-out work strategy allows a short time expand activities, including by entering other regions.
In addition, the airline ticket office may eventually grow into a larger business in related industries. A couple of years ago, some travel agencies gradually switched to selling air tickets as their only activity. Now the opposite trend is observed - air ticket offices are growing and are gradually turning into places for selling vouchers and tours.
This business has good prospects for development, and the opportunity to start working in small town. At the first stage, this may not be the case at all, because majority modern systems reservations only require the subagent to have access to the Internet and the ability to make payments to the client.
Selling air tickets is a direction available to anyone who wants to build their business in a popular and promising niche and is ready to put some effort into it.
Currently, one can observe a trend of increasing popularity of air and rail transportation services. Of course, organizing a service that allows you to sell both air and train tickets is clearly not a new idea, but modern conditions has good prospects, as experts note that in the future the demand for tickets will most likely continue.
The demand for railway tickets is also growing due to the introduction of new services by Russian Railways, in particular, the possibility of online ticket booking. Such a service became possible as a result of the influence of scientific and technological progress, when remote access for end users to many services and goods began to be created. However, it is worth noting that the official online booking service is still imperfect in cases where it is necessary, for example, to send luggage in a baggage car or transfer pets. Also problems with electronic registration may also arise for employees of companies going on a business trip, since in order to prepare an advance report it is necessary to present a paper ticket. Of course, the control coupon provided when purchasing a ticket online, in accordance with Order No. 322 of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated August 21, 2012, is a document of strict accountability, but for now many company accountants may refuse to accept it based on conservative images. Naturally, the service will gradually improve and subsequently online booking will be a complete 100% replacement for purchasing paper tickets. Actually, therefore, when opening a ticket office for the sale of railway tickets, it is worth thinking about further expansion of services, in particular, the introduction of sales of air tickets, as well as cooperation with travel companies.
Statistics show that today a considerable number of people agree to buy train tickets at a slightly more expensive price at commercial ticket offices, as this will allow them to avoid long standing in queues, that is, in fact, people are willing to pay extra for more comfortable conditions, since many ticket offices offer a ticket delivery service the address specified by the client.
Methods for opening a railway ticket office
In principle, there are two main ways to carry out the activity of selling railway tickets:
- Concluding an agency agreement with JSC Russian Railways;
- Concluding a subagency agreement with an existing agent.
For a young company, it is extremely difficult to conclude an agency agreement due to high requirements in terms of equipping the box office, training employees, providing reports, and the mandatory purchase of a certain number of tickets. Price organizational stage will be about 6.5 thousand dollars, while this stage will include:
- Accreditation;
- Purchasing a specialized printer;
- Completion of training courses for cash desk employees.
Concluding a subagency agreement for a start-up company is more preferable, since the requirements of agents, although also mandatory, are much easier to fulfill. The price of the organizational stage in this case will be approximately 5 times less than when concluding a direct agency agreement. It is worth noting that today some agents provide the opportunity to register online.
Working with agents is possible in two formats:
- Depository settlements;
- Credit line.
Naturally, with unfamiliar partners who do not have significant business reputation, most likely, cooperation will take place in a depository format, when the money needed by the agent will need to be transferred before making a purchase, so it is necessary to provide for the availability Money on the organization's account.
Point of sale equipment
In fact, to open a railway ticket office you will need a room with an area of 45-50 square meters. m. It is more expedient to locate a cash register in central urban areas with high traffic, since in this case it will be much easier for couriers to work and cover a larger number of areas.
In addition to purchasing a standard office furniture, it will be necessary to install a grill on the cash register window, buy a safe for storing cash, and also equip the office with an alarm system. To organize a cashier's workplace, you will also need to buy a desktop computer with Internet access.
Staff
IN staffing table An organization engaged in the sale of railway tickets must provide the following positions:
- Cashier – 2 people;
- Accountant – 1 person;
- Security guard - 1 person;
- Advertising manager – 1 person;
- Courier – 3-5 people.
During seasonal periods, it will be necessary to hire more couriers and additional cashiers. On initial stage The functions of an accountant can be entrusted to a third-party organization; in the future, when expanding the business and opening additional points of sale, it will be more expedient to hire a separate specialist.
Expenses
To open a ticket office for selling railway tickets, you need about 23.8-33.5 thousand dollars:
- Providing services of a law firm during registration – $1 thousand;
- Conclusion of an agreement with a subagent – 1.3-1.5 thousand dollars;
- Purchase of office furniture – 3-4 thousand dollars;
- Renovation of the premises - 5-6 thousand dollars;
- Purchase of office equipment – 3.5-5 thousand dollars;
- Working capital – 5-10 thousand dollars;
- Website creation – 1.5-2 thousand dollars;
- Advertising – 2-2.5 thousand dollars;
- Other expenses – 1.5 thousand dollars.
Monthly expenses
- Employee salaries – 5-7 thousand dollars;
- Rent – 1.5-2.5 thousand dollars;
- Advertising - 1.5-2 thousand dollars.
Total: 8-11.5 thousand dollars.
Prospects
In the first months of operation of the ticket office, due to the small customer base, most likely there will not be very many sales. In this period important role plays the correct holding advertising campaign. Placing advertising on large posters and banners in such projects, as a rule, does not bring the most top scores. You can focus on submitting advertisements to thematic print publications and reaching out to corporate customers. Advertising on the Internet can bring good returns, especially if the site has the ability to book the necessary seats.
Taking into account the fact that the client base is by no means quickly formed, it is best to open a cash register and conduct an advertising campaign 1-2 months before the start of the season. To achieve a stable cash flow, it seems advisable to enter into contracts with several companies whose employees often have to travel around the country.
Currently, there is a trend according to which many services become available to users without the need to visit real cash desks. Therefore, if we consider the prospects for the railway ticket office, we must count on a gradual transition to working remotely. Big advantage This format of work is that in this case it is possible to combine the sale of both train tickets and plane tickets. After such an expansion, you can begin to provide services for selling not only tickets, but also for booking hotel rooms.
The fast pace of modern life is impossible without the mass movement of people in space using planes, trains, and buses. Pass in vehicles are the tickets that we purchase at the box office. Therefore, opening a ticket office as a way of doing business is a logical and attractive move. Already, more than a quarter of all travel documents are sold through commercial ticket offices. Moreover, the “lion’s share” of tickets are sold by travel agencies. This is especially true for international air travel.
It is not at all necessary to purchase a ticket “in addition” to a travel agency. Of course, organizing leisure time and booking a hotel are important components, but it’s no secret that specific gravity the entire trip is the air ticket significant share(from 50 to 70%).
What do you need to open a cash register?! The main thing is to become an agent... or a super agent
At first glance, to open a ticket office you just need to rent a room and put a slightly trained cashier in front of a modern computer. In fact, the priority is access to information. To receive it, you need an agency or subagency agreement with the carrier company. But they are first accredited by the Transport Clearing House. If air transportation is carried out on international routes, then accreditation as an agent of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is required. In addition to the strict requirements for safe equipment and personnel qualifications, there is one more a big problem- IATA accepts financial guarantees narrow circle foreign banks. The situation is solved by a deposit of 20 thousand dollars, but such conditions are practically unrealistic for a small agency.
If all conditions are met, then the agency agreement allows you to use airline forms to issue tickets. The carrier strictly monitors the storage and use of forms, requires constant reporting, and in case of damage or loss, charges substantial fines (up to $500 per form).
An important aspect of the agency agreement is access to global network reservation systems (Galileo, Gabriel, Amadeus, Sirena, and for rail transport - Express). These systems provide operational communication between agents and air carriers and allow booking tickets for any flight from any agent point. A one-time connection, depending on the operator, costs from $40 to $100. Therefore, it is more profitable to have constant traffic with a monthly payment of $40-60.
To open a ticket office you need to be well prepared in organizing flights and having an established client base. Then the air carrier will show interest in you, and you will not fall for the “cheap tricks” of some “dubious” air carriers. By wisely taking advantage of the difference in price for tickets from large companies, you can earn decent money (sometimes it reached $30 per ticket or $6-10 thousand per flight). The height of work - holidays. Then tickets are 50-70% more expensive and passenger traffic is higher.
Small travel agencies cannot become full-fledged agents. But our businessmen show flexibility, become subagents and work for “commissions”, amounting to about 6-7% of the ticket price. The companies are also not at a loss - they still have 5-7% of “commissions” left. The requirements for subagents have been slightly relaxed, but only slightly.
Selling air tickets through online ticket offices
Nowadays, no one will be surprised by the sale of tickets via the Internet. To stand out from competitors, agencies come up with various tricks. Some offer simultaneous hotel booking or subsequent car rental with the purchase of an air ticket. Others use exclusive programs to create optimal routes and flight conditions. And someone organizes home delivery of tickets anywhere in the country from the proposed catalog. True, this can take several days and will be paid separately from the ticket.
Also, many online ticket offices offer a wide selection of charter flights, tickets for which are cheaper than regular flights.
The supply market situation changes every moment. Therefore, for the sake of efficiency, it is very important to have modern technology and communication systems.
"Highlight" from MPS
The situation with train tickets is somewhat different. The Ministry of Railways is a monopolist, therefore it dictates its own conditions, no less stringent than those of IATA. The agencies themselves, their locations and their staff are subject to accreditation. Only after this, a terminal for selling train tickets for routes across Russia is installed in the agency’s office. The contract is concluded not directly with the Ministry of Railways, but through intermediaries. For example, metropolitan Railway entrusted the signing of contracts to MZHA (Moscow Railway Agency). Since the contract does not provide for a “commission” remuneration, travel agencies do this on their own. From one ticket it reaches, on average, 120-150 rubles (and with delivery - even more expensive).
Prepared by editors: "Business GiD"
www.site
open an air ticket office air ticket sales You only need Internet access.
Business idea No. 6: opening your own ticket office from scratch
look for cheap flights
How it works?
!)
Why is Aviasales better than others?
- We offer
On our website.
Business ideas -> Entertaining and hotel business, tourism, catering, beauty, health, medicine
Airline ticket store
Modern experienced travelers prefer to plan their trips independently. Most, if not all, information about the country's features, accommodation, event programs, local shopping and prices can be found online.
The store of last-minute airline tickets on the Internet is also in demand among people who are interested in independent travel for the first time.
The online ticket booking mechanism can be confusing for a newbie, even if he makes a reservation through best internet airline ticket store. However, finding a passenger next to you who bought a ticket twice as expensive as yours can be a reward of sorts.
It is the dream of every entrepreneur to have a business without own production and warehouses, without large-sized goods. An airline ticket store is just such a business.
How does an online airline ticket store work?
Airline tickets are a product that you can sell to others online, but under certain conditions.
Before you open an online store selling airline tickets, you need to:
- Become an agent or subagent of the airline by concluding an agreement with it.
Opening an airline ticket office - features of the business and its prospects
Study what requirements this or that airline with which you plan to work imposes on its agents.
- To organize the sale of tickets to any part of the world, an entrepreneur who wants to open a store for cheap air tickets must obtain agent accreditation from the International Air Carrier Association. To do this, your company must have state registration, the ticket sales point must be operational at the time of application and equipped in accordance with IATA requirements.
It is also necessary to provide a report on solvency and a bank guarantee in the amount of at least 50 thousand dollars.
Hire an employee qualified to book air travel and operate the BSP settlement system. Or find a company that has an IATA (International Air Transport Association) license for cooperation.
- Install terminals for international computer reservation systems. Train staff to use the terminal. Please note that some companies only accept payment for services from legal entities.
If quite recently only large business players could create a website for selling airline tickets, now you can forget about all the difficulties associated with opening an online airline ticket store. The Getsocio platform will help small travel agencies (subject to signing subagency agreements) find new clients on the Internet and expand their business.
Share this page with your friends! Thank you!
More ideas? See section
Ready-made business plans, useful documents
Quick search for ideas here:
The Aviasales agency offers you open an air ticket office right in your office in one day, without the need for accreditation and hiring specialists knowledgeable about systems reservations. For air ticket sales
Do you have a website or blog about tourism and travel, a forum or a regional portal? Give users the opportunity look for cheap flights directly on your website and earn money from sold air tickets and hotel room reservations. Simply, automatically!
Who can become our partner for the sale of air tickets?
How it works?
You place an air ticket search form on your website. If a user is interested in buying an air ticket, then he searches for a ticket, books and buys it. You receive your commission of 50-70% of our income from the sold air ticket. In addition, we pay a commission for hotel bookings and other healthy foods and services.
The form for quickly searching for the cheapest air tickets to all destinations may look like this (one of the options):
(By the way, the example form is working and you can right here and now
find and buy the cheapest air tickets to all destinations!)
Why is Aviasales better than others?
- We are the largest and most famous Russian metasearch engine for air tickets. Our users buy tens of thousands of air tickets every month. Due to our volumes, we manage to receive the maximum commission from agencies and airlines, 2-3 times more than they pay anyone else.
How to open an airline ticket office
70, and even 50% of this amount is more than you could get by working with them directly.
- We offer the widest selection of air tickets, working with both Russian and foreign partners, as well as directly with airlines, we provide the user with an objective picture of prices for air tickets in leading agencies and airlines, he does not need to look for tickets anywhere else. This means that with a high probability the user will find and buy the air ticket he needs from you.
- We offer the prices that airlines and partner agencies give us.
- We pay not only for airline tickets, but also for other travel products, such as hotel reservations. Maximum income from each user is the main goal.
- We have been doing affiliate marketing for over 11 years. Our accumulated experience allows us to squeeze the most out of your traffic. You can view the purchase statistics of your visitors online in personal account. You will be able to analyze the number of searches, bookings and sales.
- We are constantly improving the core and interface of our search engine, we create new services for site users, connect new agencies and airlines. This way we manage to achieve maximum conversion of users into real buyers.
- We do not impose restrictions on traffic or the topic of your site - anyone can register and start earning money with us. When registering, we do not require you to sign a bunch of documents and provide detailed information - the whole process will only take a few minutes.
Get more detailed information, find answers to your possible questions, download the presentation at pdf format, as well as register and start earning money with us by selling the cheapest air tickets at new partners registration page on our website.
Share this page with your friends! Thank you!
How to open an airline ticket office: detailed financial details. calculations
How to open a ticket office
- Become a partner of UFS LLC.
Only one of them is simple. But let's start with the difficult ones, namely the first two options.
Become an agent or subagent
Entrepreneurs who know first-hand how to open a ticket office can say with confidence that this is a very complicated procedure, which will also require serious investments. You will have to spend money on:
- arrangement of points of sale;
- purchase of equipment (computer equipment, printer, copier, scanner, telephone);
- ensuring the safety of ticket forms and funds;
- training;
- advertising.
If you decide to sell air tickets, then you need to take into account that large airlines have a number of requirements for their agents, one of which is the purchase of a certain volume of tickets. Without your own client base and experience in organizing flights, your air ticket office will not be able to sell such a number of travel documents. Therefore, most entrepreneurs receive the right to enter into an agency agreement only after they have successfully worked as subagents for several years.
Becoming an agent of JSC Russian Railways is even more difficult, because here the state and the Transport Clearing House impose high requirements. Traditionally, Russian Railways does not pay commissions to its agents, so the railway ticket office makes a profit only if its own sales are successful.
The requirements for subagents are less stringent, but they cannot be called simple either. It is necessary to provide a package of documents confirming the registration of the enterprise, documents for the right to use the premises in which it is planned to open a railway ticket office or air ticket office, confirm the level of qualifications of employees and the compliance of the premises and equipment for selling tickets with the established requirements.
Before opening a ticket office, you should weigh the pros and cons. You must understand that by opening the cash register yourself, you will have to immediately ensure high sales. To do this, you need to include many companies among your clients that carry out regular and large-scale business trips, and you also need to establish relationships with carriers or representative agencies in order to get the most favorable conditions for selling tickets. With absence target audience and favorable prices, opening a cash register yourself will not be profitable for you.
An easy way to make money selling tickets
How to open a railway ticket office and an air ticket office as simply as possible? Become a partner of UFS LLC.
UFS LLC is a direct agent of Russian Railways JSC, FPC JSC and more than 200 airlines, including such Russian market leaders as Aeroflot JSC, Transaero, S7 Airlines and many others, and is accredited by the IATA and Transport Clearing Associations ward
The UFS company offers its partners quick organization of business in the travel industry using the unique UFS-online system, of which it is the developer and owner. This system allows you to sell air and train tickets, Aeroexpress tickets, insure passengers and book hotels. It is easy to use: you simply install a convenient cashier interface, which will be accessible from any computer in your office, and sell tickets without worrying about the technical side of the issue.
Our web system is a full-fledged ticket office, with the help of which UFS LLC partners can provide their clients with high-quality service, including a full range of services for travelers. More than 5 thousand companies have already become agents of UFS LLC, including travel agencies, banks, large retail chains and Internet portals.
UFS Web System:
- does not require special equipment and software– a regular computer with Internet access is sufficient;
- does not require staff training - the system interface is simple and intended for the average user;
- takes minimal time for preparation and implementation - connection and configuration takes no more than 2 days;
- allows you to connect an unlimited number of workplaces and open railway and air ticket offices anywhere;
- guarantees round-the-clock technical and information support;
- does not require reporting and the need for accreditation of points of sale;
- is provided free of charge.
Don’t know how opening a railway ticket office or air ticket office will affect your income? Want to avoid unnecessary worries? Become a partner of UFS LLC and provide your clients with a full package of services at no cost to you.
Ready-made business: your own air ticket office in one day
The Aviasales agency offers you open an air ticket office right in your office in one day, without the need for accreditation and hiring specialists who know the reservation system. For air ticket sales You only need Internet access. That's all!
Do you have a website or blog about tourism and travel, a forum or a regional portal? Give users the opportunity look for cheap flights directly on your website and earn money from sold air tickets and hotel room reservations. Simply, automatically!
Who can become our partner for the sale of air tickets?
How it works?
You place an air ticket search form on your website. If a user is interested in buying an air ticket, then he searches for a ticket, books and buys it.
Business idea: how to open a business selling airline tickets
You receive your commission of 50-70% of our income from the sold air ticket. In addition, we pay a commission for hotel bookings and other useful products and services.
The form for quickly searching for the cheapest air tickets to all destinations may look like this (one of the options):
(By the way, the example form is working and you can right here and now
find and buy the cheapest air tickets to all destinations!)
Why is Aviasales better than others?
- We are the largest and most famous Russian metasearch engine for air tickets. Our users buy tens of thousands of air tickets every month. Due to our volumes, we manage to receive the maximum commission from agencies and airlines, 2-3 times more than they pay anyone else. 70, and even 50% of this amount is more than you could get by working with them directly.
- We offer the widest selection of air tickets, working with both Russian and foreign partners, as well as directly with airlines, we provide the user with an objective picture of prices for air tickets in leading agencies and airlines, he does not need to look for tickets anywhere else.
This means that with a high probability the user will find and buy the air ticket he needs from you.
- We offer the prices that airlines and partner agencies give us.
- We pay not only for airline tickets, but also for other travel products, such as hotel reservations. Maximum income from each user is the main goal.
- We have been doing affiliate marketing for over 11 years. Our accumulated experience allows us to squeeze the most out of your traffic. You can view the purchase statistics of your visitors online in your personal account. You will be able to analyze the number of searches, bookings and sales.
- We are constantly improving the core and interface of our search engine, creating new services for site users, connecting new agencies and airlines. This way we manage to achieve maximum conversion of users into real buyers.
- We do not impose restrictions on traffic or the topic of your site - anyone can register and start earning money with us. When registering, we do not require you to sign a bunch of documents and provide detailed information - the whole process will only take a few minutes.
You can get more detailed information, find answers to your possible questions, download a presentation in pdf format, as well as register and start earning money with us by selling the cheapest air tickets at new partners registration page on our website.
Share this page with your friends! Thank you!
How to open a ticket office
The idea of opening a ticket office comes to many entrepreneurs - both experienced and beginners. This is due to the growing popularity of air and rail transport services: more and more people use them every year, and demand for this type services will only grow. In addition, buying tickets directly at railway stations and airports means endless queues and a waste of time. It is much more convenient to purchase tickets at the box office located near your home or office.
3 ways to open a railway or air ticket office
There are three ways to open a ticket office:
- Become an agent of the airline or JSC Russian Railways by concluding a direct agreement.
- Conclude a subagency agreement with an existing agent.
- Become a partner of UFS LLC.
Nowadays, you can purchase tickets by contacting any office of a tour operator or airline. Here they will help you choose best option by price and time. There are no longer queues like in Soviet times, thanks to a sufficient number of cash registers.
Air ticket offices meet in major cities much more often than railway ones. This is explained by the fact that the Ministry of Railways is still a monopolist. At the stations there are queues and a lot of resellers offering tickets for more popular flights.
Today in Russia 10-15% of all tickets are sold by travel companies. The percentage increases when it comes to international travel. If you buy a ticket from a travel agency, it is not necessary to have a travel package. 50-70% of the cost of the “package” is tickets. Air travel is much more important and more expensive than booking a hotel and organizing leisure activities.
From the outside it may seem that you just need to rent a room and install a computer to open an airline ticket office. In reality, everything is much more complicated. The most important thing here is information. Organizing access to information sources involves many harsh conditions. To sell plane tickets, you must be an agent or subagent of the airline whose tickets you are going to sell. All companies have their own requirements. In order to become an agent of a foreign company, you need to register as an accredited IATA (International Transport Association) agent. This association places very strict requirements on safe equipment and on the level of training of personnel who will be involved in issuing tickets. In addition, IATA accepts guarantees only from a certain range of foreign banks. For membership in IATA, a deposit of $20,000 is required. For a small agency, these conditions are practically impossible to meet. In this case, you can conclude a subagency agreement.
Agency agreements allow you to issue tickets on the air carrier's forms (stocks). The airline's primary concern is the safety of the effluent. To avoid loss or damage to waste, their owners check the reliability of their potential agent’s safe equipment (and, in general, the conditions for storing and filling out forms) and the qualifications of the personnel. If wastewater is damaged, a fine will be charged to the agency. The amount of the fine depends on the airline. Approximately $200-500 per form. This is to obtain financial guarantees; in case of termination of the contract, the deposit is returned.
However, in order to become an airline agent, it is not enough just to become an accredited agent of IATA or the Transport Clearing House (for agents of Russian airlines).
It is very important to have access to global systems reservations (“Amadeus”, “Gabriel”, “Galileo”, “Star” or “Sirena”, for railway transportation - “Express”). You can connect one-time or permanently. Such systems allow you to book seats on any flight from anywhere in the world. Access to such systems costs $40-60 per month and $40-100 for a one-time connection (depending on the operator).
You can become an airline agent only if you have experience in organizing flights and a client base, otherwise you will not be of interest to the carrier. It is not recommended to use “cheap” transportation services. By “playing” on the difference in prices between major airlines, you can save $6,000-10,000 per flight or $30 per ticket.
The bulk of flights occur on holidays: New Year, May holidays. Due to the fact that liners often return empty, ticket prices vary. For example, a ticket to Egypt on regular days costs about $170, on holidays - $260-280.
If a travel agency cannot afford the agency of several major air carriers, they resort to subagency agreements. You can become a subagent of any airline only with its permission and on the terms established by the company. Although these requirements are no longer as severe as agency requirements. There are subagents, as well as commission agents.
They receive approximately 6-7% of the ticket price. The company itself receives 5-7% as a commission. However, many airlines have a bonus system. But because tariff plans are constantly growing, even large companies It's hard to get bonuses regularly.
The practice of selling tickets online has long existed. A lot of Internet agencies have appeared and you need to be able to “stand out from the crowd.” Thus, one of these agencies offers booking air tickets for international and domestic airlines, hotels, and car rentals via the Internet. It has a specially developed program that allows you to process a huge volume of applications and make reservations in real time (it immediately reports the availability of seats and the price of the ticket). With such a system, you can see savings in money (booking a ticket without intermediaries), time (filling out a simple form and fast delivery of the ticket by courier), freedom of choice (dozens of flight options and a lot of special offers). Besides, this system allows you to get a ticket not only with a courier, but also on your own, at the airport or in one of the cities of Russia (even not a very large one). However, such a service is provided for a fee.
The system allows small travel agencies to serve their clients better. It also provides for commissions for travel agencies.
There are difficulties in booking tickets for charter flights. Information about them is available only from the travel agency that organized it. Tickets for “charts” are cheaper than for regular flights. Now a number of Internet sites allow you not only to purchase tickets for “charts”, but also to compare the prices of most carriers and choose the cheapest and most convenient option.
The situation is different in the case of booking train tickets, because... MPS is a monopolist. Here tickets are not booked, but issued, which, in principle, is the same thing.
The Moscow Railway (MZD) entrusted the conclusion of contracts to the Moscow Railway Agency (MZA). The agreement concluded by the tour operator with MZhA stipulates that a railway ticket sales terminal will be located in the company’s office and allows the sale of tickets for domestic Russian routes.
The MFA has no less requirements than IATA. There are three stages of accreditation: 1 - accreditation of the agent’s right to have a contract, 2 - accreditation of the point of sale itself, 3 - accreditation of employees who will work at the point of sale in this company.
Travel agencies set their own fees, because... MHA does not provide commissions. The fee for each company is different, approximately 120 rubles. from the ticket.
There is one nuance in the ticket business. During the season there are too many tours and in order to attract clients, travel agencies may not charge the 5% sales tax. The fact is that when purchasing a ticket from an air carrier, the travel company entity does not pay this tax. In theory, this tax should be collected from the client, but...
So, to summarize, we can say that it is more profitable to sell air tickets, because... MJA does not make commissions. Also, it is much more profitable to have not a depositary relationship with the airline, but to enjoy the maximum degree of loyalty on the part of the airline.
Based on an article by Oleg Cresp published in the Business Journal