also called book direct
Purchasing from the airline that issues the ticket rather than through an agency.
An airline direct booking means buying from the airline that actually issues the ticket, rather than through an agency. It is usually the simplest option when things get complicated: same-day changes, elite upgrades, and rebooking after a delay or cancellation all tend to go smoother when the airline holds your booking directly. The trade-off is you may miss deals that only show up in other channels.
Your flight gets cancelled and you need to be rebooked fast. Because you bought direct from the airline, they can fix it on the spot, whereas a booking made through an agency might have meant being bounced back and forth about who handles the change.
Usually simplest for same-day changes, elite upgrades, and disruption rebooking.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the channels a ticket comes through.
Buying direct means from the airline that issues the ticket, either on its own website, its direct website inventory, or its other direct channels.
An OTA is an online travel agency reselling many airlines in one place, and a GDS is the network behind travel agents and many booking sites that lets them search and ticket airline inventory.
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