Book with TA or airline for flights?

[Royalty X]

It worries me that some of you are so cynical about TA's. Sometimes you have to be so careful when booking stuff online. A lot of "discount" accommodation websites have a lot more restrictive rules when it comes to booking hotels (often the trade-off for getting cheap prices is that there is no changes or refunds allowed). What happens if you get overseas and the hotel has no record of your booking? Will you try to find an email contact for the website you booked it on and see if they will respond to your email (where will you stay in the meantime)? Or will you call the agent that booked it for you (or their 24/7 customer assistance line) and get them to fix the problem for you?

 

Quite often, "bricks and mortar" TA's have access to fares that aren't available online. And just because only they have access to them, doesn't mean their fare rules are overly restrictive (there is some benefits to having good relationships with the airlines). Plus, you can resreach til your heart's content, but that doesn't mean you're going to find the best options online. Quite often a TA is going to have options you've never even thought of.

 

What I am saying is, don't completely rule out going and talking to a TA. The majority of us are in the business because we love travel (and whether you believe it or not, we get just as excited about your holiday as you do - if only we could come too). :)

[Kinkacruiser]

When I used to use bricks and mortar t/a's all I ever saw them do is ring a travel warehouse and ask for a price.I don't waste anyones time, I do my own research, using various sites and trip advisor and then if I wanted to use an agent for some reason I would ask them to see if they could price my selections for me...if they can do it better great. I actually have a reasonable local agent who I do use for some things..today I am off researching cruising to India/Egypt at a seminar put on in Sydney...tough if a salesman thinks I am signing up today for a cruise nearly half way through 2014 LOL it would have to be a very very good deal.

 

Sue

 

Just spotted tour counter, Sue. Bon voyage for tomorrow. Have a fabulous time

[newfarmers]

It worries me that some of you are so cynical about TA's. Sometimes you have to be so careful when booking stuff online. A lot of "discount" accommodation websites have a lot more restrictive rules when it comes to booking hotels (often the trade-off for getting cheap prices is that there is no changes or refunds allowed). What happens if you get overseas and the hotel has no record of your booking? Will you try to find an email contact for the website you booked it on and see if they will respond to your email (where will you stay in the meantime)? Or will you call the agent that booked it for you (or their 24/7 customer assistance line) and get them to fix the problem for you?

 

Quite often, "bricks and mortar" TA's have access to fares that aren't available online. And just because only they have access to them, doesn't mean their fare rules are overly restrictive (there is some benefits to having good relationships with the airlines). Plus, you can resreach til your heart's content, but that doesn't mean you're going to find the best options online. Quite often a TA is going to have options you've never even thought of.

 

What I am saying is, don't completely rule out going and talking to a TA. The majority of us are in the business because we love travel (and whether you believe it or not, we get just as excited about your holiday as you do - if only we could come too). :)

 

Back in 2005 we saw an add for one of the original Fire and Ice cruises. The add was a small online operation run out of Brisbane. We ummed and ahhed about it but were concerned about using an online agent. So we went into that largest of large TAs here in the city. Initially they wouldn't match the price of the deal but finally came close so we booked. It was just flights and the cruise.

 

Then the dramas began. Our first TA just disappeared off to another office. The booking was half complete and it was eventually moved to another office around the corner. The girl who took it over was wonderful, but...

 

The booking with Celebrity (it was on Infinity) was in US dollars. We had been told that until final payment, if the AUD crashed against the USD, we would be up for more. Now I made the foolish assumption that if the reverse happened we would pay less. Not on your life. I contacted the RCI/Celebrity wholesaler and asked how much the cruise was and was shocked at the price.

 

I went back to Skroo's (his nickname) shopfront and asked why the price wasn't coming down. Met of course by a stony face. Never got a single cent of what should have been hundreds of dollars of savings.

 

It was a terrible experience, despite the best efforts of the second TA, who was very much hamstrung by very restrictive and anti-customer policies.

 

When we eventually boarded the ship we met a number of Aussies who had booked off that original add we saw. They had successfully boarded the ship, came on the same flights as us, had included transfers from airport to hotel in Vancouver, hotel to ship, ship to hotel in Honolulu, hotel to airport and paid less than us. NEVER AGAIN.

 

This large shop front won't sell some airlines because they won't agree to restrictions/give up commission and other demands made by said shop front TA.

 

So we'll continue to do it ALL ourselves, or use online companies that seem far more willing (able?) to really look after their customers, because Skroo's mob, just like most large companies put their shareholders and profits first.

 

Rant over

 

pete

[MMDown Under]

In answer to the question, I always book all my flights, both domestic and international, with the airline direct.

 

Simply, I want to be able to select my seat (for discount flights) and be able to deal with the airline direct, if there are any problems, especially overseas.

 

Like the others have said, I do my research first and know a bargain when I see one.

 

(Long gone are the days where I would buy a ticket from a bucket shop in London (someone else's return ticket) for a flight from London to NY!)

[Xcitdcruiser]

I cant understand the desire to 'control' the seat/sector you are purchasing, but has anyone ever experienced a situation where a TA came to the rescue? During the Volcano ash period my TA was working around the clock to help ALL of her clients who were affected, looking for new flights, accomodation - quite a task as literally thousands of others were in the exact same position. And it was not only her doing that, but the whole office.

 

I've built an excellent relationship with my TA, I research all i can before approaching her, & sometimes I know that i'm paying $100 more (other times, $100 less) but for the piece of mind that they will HELP when needed. Priceless.

 

That office were working tirelessly to help maybe a couple of hundred clients, that would be much easier to deal with than contacting the airline where 1000's of other people would be trying to do the same thing. Based on that alone, for internationl travel I do all research then ask the TA to book it all for me.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

You get what you pay for.

 

Airlines are very well aware that "one off" customers want to think they are getting a bargain and are not being "ripped off" by a third party, so they structure the fares on the websites accordingly.

 

We have had two occassions when the flight we wanted was quoted by the airline on their website , at much more than the TA could sell it to us for.

 

Never say Never.

 

Saying you will never use a TA is like shooting yourself in the foot.

 

 

[icat2000]

I will use a TA if the price is right or there is a benefit to me. But I find that TA don't know half as much as what I do about various things to do with travel i.e I find some of their travel knowledge limited to certain areas. Why should I do all the research and they take the commission for simply making a booking. Does that make me cynical. Probably so. I know certain TA will only recommend certain airlines. I believe its to do with commission.

 

I use a TA when I find I'm getting some value. Like my return sector home from my cruise. I had booked a tour and the agent got me a great fare. So I booked it all through them, the fare and tour through them. I could have easily booked the tour directly through the website. Am I loyal to them. No. I am loyal to what it costs me or what value or benefit I will be getting in return. I find the turnover rate with TA very high. I had a great TA back in 2005. She left the industry, sadly. From then I started booking my own travel.

 

I generally book airfares direct with the airline website. I book all my hotels online over the past couple of years and never had an issue. Either use booking.com or book directly with the hotel. Same with cruises I tend to book directly now with the cruise company.

 

The internet and even more so with smartphones and apps has made the traveler so much more savvy. Very easy to check prices from a touch of a button now.

[bazzaw]

.

 

Our first TA just disappeared off to another office. The booking was half complete and it was eventually moved to another office around the corner. The girl who took it over was wonderful, but...

 

We have encountered that situation for our last 3 cruises -- whereby the TA who we booked with, "disappeared" - to be replaced by another. I guess that it wasn't really a problem -- but it has happened all 3 times.

 

Barry

[Kiwi Kruzer]

We also had that happen once and the 2 agents got into an argument about who should get the commission. It got quite heated at one stage.:eek: