Group travel

A group does not price like a stack of individual tickets. A carrier may hold a group fare with its own deposit schedule, a cut-off for final names and its own rules on substitutions and reductions. On busy dates individual tickets sometimes come out lower. Both routes are priced and the trade-off is set out, so the choice rests on figures rather than assumption.

One agent keeps the record. One name list is maintained against it. The dates on which names, document details and payments fall due are written into the schedule you receive, and each step is confirmed back to you as it closes.

The headcount at which a carrier begins treating a booking as a group varies by airline and route, and the desk establishes it for yours. Group fares, deposits and deadlines all originate with the airline, and every date and amount appears on the schedule before you commit anything.

How it works

1. 1

   Outline the movement

   Dates, the departure airport or airports, the destination, an approximate headcount and the flexibility you hold.

2. 2

   Both routes priced

   The group fare and the individual-ticket alternative, with conditions, deadlines and totals side by side.

3. 3

   Seats secured

   You name a route; the desk places the booking and issues the deposit schedule and the name deadline.

4. 4

   Name list closed

   You return the final list and each spelling is checked against the identity document before filing.

5. 5

   Tickets issued

   Ticket details go out per traveler, with one consolidated summary for the organizer.