Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 November 3

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November 3

Help me find travel sites for large groups of passengers (10 or more), please.

Orbitz, Booking Buddy, etc., only lets me choose up to 6 passengers (sometimes 8.) Our campus ministry may be taking a total of 10 passengers to the Mountain T.O.P. ministry camp in Tennessee, and I'm researching options for airline tickets with this group, should we ever decide to fly. (It's for Spring Break next year.)

So what sites allow me to search fares for 10 or more passengers? Also, if there are special, obscure deals for groups this large, where might I find them, please?

Thanks in advance,

--Let Us Update Wikipedia: Dusty Articles 04:18, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

You may be able to contact airlines directly and get better results (this is true even for smaller groups). Airline ticketing agents have some leeway in these regards, so if you say "I am finding that Orbitz is quoting me a price of $200 per passenger for two groups of 5 passengers, but I want to book a group of ten altogether. I'll use Orbitz if they give me the best price, but if you can give me a better price over the phone now, it would be easier to book all ten at once with you, and I'd like to do that." You'd be surprised how good of a result you can get just by asking; there's no guarantee this method will work, but if it doesn't you are no worse off than before, but if it works you'll either save some money, or have an easier booking all ten at once. --Jayron32 04:24, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

It sounds obvious to me: book two groups of 5. Astronaut (talk) 07:09, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

You can call Orbitz on the phone and the agents there may have more flexibility than is given via their web interface. Or, they may not; I recently had trouble booking a trip on Expedia, and when calling their agent on the phone, it turned out the agent just used the web site the same way I did with no additional powers available. Personally I'd just look up a local travel agent, who are people who do this for a living. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:54, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

• Please disregard the advice given by Astronaut. What you need to do is call airlines directly, or go through an actual travel agent, and ask for group bookings. You can always get to group bookings, for most airlines these will be bookings of 10 or more pax. Group rates will always be lower than individual; there will almost never be a break on 2 groups of 5pax. Please note also that Orbitz et al are merely front-end interfaces for SABRE, which is why agents at Expedia and Orbitz won't have much luck; they're not using SABRE directly, just the front end same as you. In general terms, your best bet will be to find the airlines which fly out of your local airport to wherever it is in TN you're heading, call them, and ask for group rates. (I used to work in international event planning and incentive travel, and had to deal with the vagaries of air travel on a regular basis.) → ROUX ₪ 17:07, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

If you want to avoid the hassle, all the better travel agencies will be able to to help out. If I need anything but a simple booking, I send an email to my online travel agent (who used to be a walk-in agent, and still operates real offices), and they sort it out. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:16, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Agreed, but travel agencies add their own costs on top of ticket pricing. → ROUX ₪ 17:17, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Absolutely. You trade money for less hassle (if you have a good agent, otherwise you might pay more and have the hassle ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:33, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

That hasn't been my experience. I always book my overseas travel through a walk in agent and I've never paid more then the price I've found for myself on the internet. I find the flight and the price on the internet, I go to my agent and they book it for me. I just like having someone who knows what they are doing book it for me. I figure the agent gets some sort of discount on the price you and I would see online which is how they make their profit. Vespine (talk) 00:14, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

They do often make a commission back on a portion of the ticketing fee, yes. → ROUX ₪ 00:25, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

SAT essay

i had a query about the essay in SAT. do we have to write in one tone, like in support of the topic, or against it, or can we do both? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.252.156 (talk) 14:12, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

That would depend on what the specific essay assignment says. As far as I know, normally you write about your opinion on the subject or topic, which would be in support, against, or on the fence, that last one being less focused on any one point of view, but instead looks at both sides of it. 70.241.22.82 (talk) 16:20, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

You could ask one of your classmates or your teacher/tutor. They might be able to help. Chevymontecarlo 21:14, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

If it's specifically a Persuasive writing piece you would choose for or against (doesn't have to be your opinion, just what you can argue best), and don't sit on the fence. --jjron (talk) 08:16, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

As always - read, understand and answer the question set.Froggie34 (talk) 09:40, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Also, the way these things are scored, write neatly and as much as you can. 128.111.130.159 (talk) 02:45, 8 November 2010 (UTC)