Book 60 seats on flight

We are trying to organise 2 teams with adults to travel to Spain next summer for a tournament.

Does anyone know the best way and the cheapest way to book 60 seats with an airline?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Call the airline, they will be delighted!

d2x2 said:

Call the airline, they will be delighted!

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True. Better if there is more than one airline to call. But the chances of getting bargain rates in the summer will be limited. They would be better if you can arrange to avoid travelling on the busier days of the week.

Do you intend to charge the team members and adults for this, i.e to sell on the flights? If so, it would be prudent to confirm that you do not need to obtain a licence as a tour operator under the Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act 1982.

You will need to call them to avail of group rates

I had to do this recently - group rates with AL were a joke - €250 more expensive per person than if we had just booked online.

Consider a charter package - you might do better pricewise.

If you are booking with Ryanair (or similar); test out the numbers first, starting at (say) 5 pax, then 10 pax - at some level of passenger numbers the flight cost will increase, but at least you'll get the first 10 or 20 at the lower price.

I booked flights for my choir last year, group rates with Air Lingus were cheaper than quoted on their website for the same flight. They gave us varying discount rates according to the numbers travelling (it was around 55) we supplyed them with the passenger names and had one confirmation reference for the group and they opened a group desk at the airport and checked us in together.

I have booked groups before and the biggest problem I find is people that are the first to sign up are the ones that pull out at last minuet due to all sorts of reasons and then I'm left with the bill or trying to get replacements and then the problem of trying to change names etc, My advice is use a travel agent, arrange everything with them and let everyone sort their own as part of the (your name) group.

As someone who has booked group flights before (Aer Lingus only), here are a few points based on my experience :

(1) There is a dedicated group booking number to call (see the website)
(2) Check the online price before you book - you should at most pay this or possibly do better
(3) Names do not have to be provided until about 2 weeks before you fly
(4) It's a bit of a lottery on booking to get the best price, if you need to travel on a particular day. Sometimes the prices go up nearer to the date, sometimes down. However, you have to book far enough ahead to ensure you get the seats.
(5) The usual non-refund rules apply.