Group Flight Bookings: How Blocks, Deposits, and Name Lists Work

What a group booking is

Most airlines treat ten or more passengers on the same flights as a group. The airline quotes one fare for the whole block, holds the seats against a deposit, and collects passenger names later, usually 30 to 60 days before departure. The fare is fixed once the contract is signed even if public fares rise.

What it is good for

Groups whose plans are firm on dates but not yet on names, and trips where the public fare would jump if ten seats were bought at once.

• Sports teams, school trips, wedding parties, and corporate off-sites where the list is not final at booking.
• Peak dates where buying ten seats at once would push the public fare into a higher bucket.
• Seating together and a single point of contact for changes.

What it costs

Group fares are not always the cheapest fare on the flight; they are a guaranteed fare. On a route with cheap public fares months out, ten individual tickets can be cheaper. The trade-off is flexibility: group contracts allow name changes up to a deadline, and often one or two seats to be dropped, which individual non-refundable tickets do not.

The process

Call (708) 866-8751 with the dates, cities, and approximate headcount. The agent requests group quotes from the carriers that serve the route, compares them with individual fares, and explains the deposit and name deadlines before anything is signed.