Groups of 10+

Group flight booking for 10 or more: deposits, names, and attrition

Fourteen people should not be fourteen separate basic-economy tickets. Airline group desks exist because names change and someone will drop out. Here is how that product actually works.

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Quick answer

If you have 10 or more travelers on the same flights, call Fareobuzz’s group desk at 1-888-620-4018 before buying individual tickets. A group contract can hold seats with a later name deadline and written attrition rules. You will typically pay a deposit set by the airline, not the full fare on day one.

Why not 14 separate tickets

Individual cheap fares look efficient until:

Two people drop out and their basic economy is worthless.
Someone’s middle name does not match their passport and the ticket cannot be transferred.
The airline cancels one passenger’s flight and not the others because they are not on one group PNR.
You need adjacent seats and the cheap buckets already split the cabin.

Group inventory is a block. It is not always cheaper per seat than a sale fare. It is more manageable. For weddings, reunions, sports teams, and corporate offsites, manageability is the product. Details: group travel.

What a group contract contains

Seat count and routing — sometimes with limited date flexibility.
Deposit schedule — due dates are real; miss them and the block disappears.
Name deadline — when legal names must be in.
Ticketing deadline — when remaining seats must be paid in full.
Attrition / review dates — how many seats you can release.
Deviation rules — can two people return a day later?

Get every one of those in writing before you collect money from your travelers. Fareobuzz will not verbally “sort of hold” 20 seats. Either the airline group desk has issued a contract or it has not.

Hotels and the rest of the trip

A flight block without a room block is how wedding guests end up in three zip codes. Ask for a hotel block at the same time. Fareobuzz hotel bookings carry a $50 service fee per booking unless a group hotel contract is arranged as one file — ask which structure you are on. See hotels.

Cruises and packages have their own group desks and deposit logic. Do not mix products on one spreadsheet and assume the rules are the same.

How to start the file

One organizer should call 1-888-620-4018 with:

Approximate headcount (and a realistic low/high).
Origin city or cities (two departure cities means two groups, or a meeting-point hub).
Dates that are actually fixed vs preferred.
Who pays: company card, or each traveler at ticketing.

Do this before you send a “buy your own ticket on this flight” email to 20 people.

Questions

How many travelers count as a group?

Airlines commonly treat 10 or more passengers on the same itinerary as a group. Some routes and carriers use a different threshold. Fareobuzz’s group desk starts at 10.

Do I need every legal name on day one?

Usually no. Group contracts typically hold seats with a name deadline later. That is a main reason to use a group fare instead of ticketing everyone immediately.

What is attrition?

The number of seats you are allowed to release without penalty. Drop below the contracted floor and you can owe for empty seats. Get this number in writing.

How do I start?

Call 1-888-620-4018 with the route, travel dates, passenger count, and whether names are firm. Do not collect 14 credit cards and hope.

Written by the Fareobuzz Travel Desk. Last reviewed 2026-08-29.

Fareobuzz Travel Desk

Written by Fareobuzz booking agents who ticket paid itineraries for travelers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Last reviewed 30 August 2026. Named personal bylines are used only when a real agent is identified — this desk publishes as a team. Corrections: support@fareobuzz.com.

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