Short answer. An accredited agent can issue tickets on airline stock through IATA’s settlement systems. That is the practical difference: they can create the ticket itself, rather than passing you to someone else who does.
Key points
- IATA accreditation is a commercial vetting, not a government licence.
- BSP settles money and data between agents and airlines; ARC does the equivalent in the United States.
- An accredited agent can issue and reissue tickets, and service them afterwards.
- Whatever the channel, the test of the outcome is the same: a 13-digit ticket number and a booking you can retrieve.
What does accredited mean?
IATA accreditation recognises that an agency has been checked for financial standing and professional compliance, and permits it to sell and issue tickets on behalf of airlines through the Billing and Settlement Plan. It is how airlines extend ticketing authority to intermediaries without extending it to everyone.
In the United States the arrangement differs: agencies generally need an IATAN number and ARC accreditation to issue tickets directly. Outside the US, the route runs through IATA and BSP.
What can they do that a website cannot?
Three things in practice. They can issue the ticket themselves rather than relaying the request. They can build itineraries across multiple carriers that consumer search does not assemble well. And they can service the booking afterwards, which matters when a schedule change or a reroute has to be handled against fare rules.
Not every consumer booking site is an accredited agent. Some are, some resell someone else’s ticketing authority, and the difference becomes visible when something needs changing.
How do you check?
Ask for the IATA or ARC number. An accredited agency trades on that accreditation and will provide it readily. Then confirm the outcome rather than the credential: after booking, you should hold an e-ticket receipt with a 13-digit ticket number, and a booking reference that retrieves your flights on the operating airline’s own website.
How does this relate to a sample itinerary?
An accredited agent produces a ticket. This site produces a layout. Those are different categories of object, and no amount of formatting moves a document from one to the other.
See held and refundable bookings for booking routes that can be undone, and reading an e-ticket receipt for what you should receive.