Max and thread, my local newspaper is flooded with articles on airfair and the internet and travel agencies,IMO this all seems to work to IFLYs advantage. One article titled Endangered Species talks about the airlines efforts to cut travel agents commissions, some travel agents say they believe the airlines are trying to put travel agents out of business.
Another article titled Use the Internet to find cheap fares following is an excerpt from that article:
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
THE FLIGHT WAS BOOKED, His credit card charged. Buying the ticket online was so easy. Unfortunately, the charge came to about $400 more than Christopher Schwarz had agreed to pay.
"I had to call the agency, and they had to rework everything, and it probably took me another hour to two hours on the phone," he said. "It was really irritating, but then I went back and have booked twice with no problem."
In a hunt for the best deal, consumers like Schwarz are willing to forgive computer glitches and the lack of human interaction to find airline tickets on the Internet.
However, many "wired travelers" -adult Americans who have traveled by air in the last year and visited a Web site in the past month - - still aren't comfortable booking tickets online, according to an eCommerce study by PhoCusWright.
The survey found that 57 percent of wired travelers have "looked, but not booked" online.
About 77 percent of the travelers wanted to be able to speak with a salesperson when making a purchase.
Dozens of Web sites operated by online travel agencies and airlines offer travelers unprecedented comparison-shopping options. But time and caution are crucial before embarking on a cybersurf for cheaper fares.
Laurie Berger, editor of Consumer Reports' Travel Letter, said the answer to who finds the cheapest fares -- travel agencies or online searches -- depends on two things- the travel agent and the online consumer.
"To book online, you need to do some legwork," she said. "That's where the travel agent comes in. If they're good, they'll find you the cheapest deal. If you pick a bad travel agent or you
don't know how to work the Internet system, you might not find the best deal."
Steve Loucks, a spokesman for the American Society of Travel Agents, said the travel agent community supports the use of the Internet for
information, but when it comes to booking flights and planning vacations, consumers' best bet is a real-live travel agent.
"You can spend all your time and effort getting the lowest fare, but ultimately, your time is money," he said, "There's a lot of things that the travel agent is going to do because they are trained to do it that you as the casual user might not think of doing."
Some of the web sites offer low fare tips such as checking other regional airports, including a Saturday night stay and avoiding Monday and Friday travel when possible.
Another article was about the internet in general
Shoppers warm to the Internet
USA TODAY
Online retailers are offering a heap of incentives this holiday shopping season to try to entice traditional shoppers to make electronic purchases.
If avoiding crowds and parkinglot chaos are not enough to draw consumers to e-commerce, then partnerships between credit card companies and
retailers that offer discounts may seal the deal - and win card holders.
American Express and the Gap are giving cybershoppers a $10 rebate in the form of a Gap Card when they spend at least $100 from Nov. 17 to
Dec. 8 at Gap's virtual stores - www.gap.com, www.gapkids.com and www.babygap.com. It looks like a credit card and will be automatically
mailed to the AmEx card member within three weeks of the purchase.
MasterCard's incentives range from 10 percent discounts and free wrapping paper to donations to national charities.
Such inducements are increasingly cropping up.
About 43 percent of households have personal computers; 52 percent of them have Internet access; and 38 percent of those have purchased
something over the Net, a new study by the Retail and Consumer Products group at Ernst & Youngshows.
Online holiday shopping got off to a fast start with some retailers reporting large increases during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Online bookseller Amazon.com said orders quadrupled the Friday after Thanksgiving compared with the same day last year. Specialty retailer
Sharper Image reported sales rose 50 percent for the weekend compared with last year.
Consumers apparently are gaining confidence in the safety of cyberspace and are at ease sending their credit card data into the ether. They also
like the convenience of having gifts delivered to either their front door or the recipient's.
As a result, experts predict Internet sales will double to $2.3 billion this holiday season, a 109 percent gain from $1.1 billion last year as shoppers
poi t,,! and click at everything, from apparel and toys to concert tickets.
"This is the first holiday season when just about anything you want to buy is now available on the Internet," said Andy Sernovitz, president of
the Association for Interactive Media, which promotes business on the Internet.
The Disney Store Online has more than 2,000 items, including clothing, accessories, gifts and collectibles, toys, videos and music. A
personalized search vehicle on the site www.disney.com sifts inventory by Disney character, movie, product category or the recipient's agegroup.
Kmart launched www.thatperfectgift.com to get shoppers to cross off Christmas list items ranging from a token gift for the baby sitter to houseware
gift sets from Martha Stewart.
I believe the internet is just starting to pick up speed and there will be plenty of opportunity for profit both short and long term. I like IFLY because they are taking a step towards giving that personal touch to the internet shopper one that I think the consumer will take to in a big way.
Joe
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