This would save time and offer the ability to locate lower airfares at the traveler's convenience. By using these automated booking systems through the three Cluster agencies, MSU travelers may search for the lowest fares at their convenience, maximize the use of MSU's negotiated discount rate programs with the airlines, and allow their airfare costs to be directly billed to their MSU account number. Until the Cluster agencies web booking products are fully developed, MSU travelers may still research travel options on the web or directly with airlines as long as they book through one of the three approved agencies. The airlines require the Cluster Agencies to collect airfare booking information to monitor volume and market share requirements necessary to negotiate the discounts. Also, web-based airfare booking is relatively new and many MSU faculty and staff are not comfortable with this type of electronic transaction.
Many travelers prefer the seasoned experience and personalized service a travel agency offers.
Q. The only substantial problem with this program is the fact that these travel agents will not search enough to find the truly lowest fare. The airline global distribution system is required by federal regulation to present all tariffs in an equal fashion to all sources. To complicate matters, however, airlines change fares over 100,000 times per day. A fare offered by one agency might become unavailable or become considerably cheaper within minutes. This leads to many observations that one agency is higher priced than another.