"Ryan Ginstrom" <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:berr37$8ch99$1@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> "Ed" <gwbush@whitehouse.gov> wrote in message
> news:bepurk$b3o$1@cobalt01.janis.or.jp...
> >
> > "Ryan Ginstrom" <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:beo33g$6v7iu$1@ID-101276.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > > It depends greatly on when you go and who you book with, and to some
> > extent
> > > where you fly from. I have seen tickets to LA in the 40,000 yen range,
> and
> > > of course smack dab in the middle of Obon you'd be crying tears of joy
> to
> > > get a ticket for 100,000 yen...
> >
> > I used to think the same thing until I did a little shopping around.
None
> of
> > the travel agencies seem to be any cheaper or more expensive then the
> > others.
>
> I have heard it said that airline tickets are nearly a perfect market,
since
> everybody pays exactly what they are prepared to pay. If you look hard
> enough for the cheaper fares, you'll find them.

Finding the cheaper fares isn't the problem. Getting them is. The travel
agent SOP is quite simple. They say "I have you booked on flight XX blah
blah blah  for (relatively cheap fare)." You say "Great!" and pay them the
money for the ticket. About two weeks before the flight is scheduled to
leave, they'll call you up and tell you that they couldn't get the ticket.
Reserving a seat is easy enough for them since the airlines routinely
overbook flights, but actually getting you the ticket is a completely
different matter.

In terms of compensation for losing that cheap fare, they'll offer you a
guaranteed ticket at a price that is slightly lower than what the travel
agency across the street can get you.