After agent saves traveler big bucks on a business class ticket, “I’ll never search online again”

Here’s another good reason to use a competent travel agent: When Jay Wendt read one of my columns in the Portland Oregonian that recommended using an agent, he decided to give it a try on a business class ticket for a transpacific flight. He was floored by what he discovered.

After searching through a number of sites, the best I could find was a few thousand dollars for the ticket.

They would route me through two different countries with no less than a four hour stopover each before landing at my final destination. One segment had a 16-hour layover.

Thinking these were the “best” prices, I called a local travel agency to see what they could offer.

I was flabbergasted at what I discovered! She found nearly direct flights (one layover due to customs). The best part is that the tickets offered by the travel agent were about one-fifth cheaper than the “best” rate I found online! Plus, I’ve got someone to call in case of a problem with my travels.

I’ll never search online again!

Now that’s what I’m talking about.

Anyone who reads my columns knows that I recommend the services of a travel agent whenever possible. Now, I don’t agree with everything travel agents do — for example, I think some of them could be more open about how they make their money (commissions, overrides, bonuses and booking fees). The more transparency, the better. But I digress.

Overall, I think agents — good agents — offer a valuable service, as Jay learned. Maybe there’s a lesson in there for all of us. Before you click the “book” button, why not pick up the phone and call your agent?

  • Joe Farrell

    Just remember one thing, just a cause it is a deal does not mean it really exists. A good friend called me last night with a horror story.

    Against my advice, they used a travel agent to book an anniversary trip to a special resort. They paid via credit card. The travel agent charged the trip. Never booked it.

    They were scheduled to leave in 10 days and when they called the agent to verify and get booking confirmation they instead got a letter from a lawyer telling them the person was going to file bankruptcy and that they should try to recover their bookings on their own. NO deposits or payments were made – this person simply charged the cards, took the money and never sent anything to the travel provider.

    I’m telling you – travel agents are mostly idiots. 95% of them are probably part-time hobbyists like 95% of real estate agents being part time moms and part time agents. Some are scammers, many are incompetent and few have any clue as to what they are doing. Sure, all of you who will flame me are none of the above, but that still only proves to me you know how to be indignant.

    If you make a reservation for THOUSANDS of dollars less than is otherwise available – do three things. First, always pay via credit cards. Second, call the airline directly to make sure they actually have a reservation for you, and third, call and make 100% certain that the airline has been paid. Not that they received notice that the travel agent has the money, but that they have been paid.

    Sounds too good to be true? Like saving thousands over direct booking, is too good to be true. Unless you are buying direct from a consolidator.

    ANYONE who tells you that you will not know the airline or flight number until 24 hrs before booking – I’d be real suspicious.

  • Bob

    I agree that a good travel agent can really work the system for you. I once had one get me onto a “full” domestic flight by booking me through to Frankfurt and then canceling the international portion.

    But I have to say, it’s really difficult to find one you can trust. I’m not really sure how I’d go about it at this point. The majority of travel agents are worthless.

  • Peter

    Christopher discusses how websites are showing changing prices when you click on the “BUY” button. Having been in the travel business for 20 years and as co-owner of a travel agency, I can tell you that this cannot and would not happen if you booked it through a travel agent. Even if an airline raises a fare (they load fares many tmes per day, every day), I can sell it to you at the lowest price offered that day. Guaranteed. These are not tricks. These are the tools available to us.

    Airline websites and travel websites don’t show you everything, because they are going to show you what they want and who pays them the most to be at the top of the list. Airlines will selectively remove flights from displays if a flight is full and they want to steer you to another fiight. My computer system has access to ALL fares, including webfares, and by design is unbiased.

    As far as deeming most travel agents “worthless” from Bob, it’s interesting that over 50% of all airline tickets are still sold through travel agents, despite the internet. Wan to find a good agent? Ask around, and for goodness sake USE ONE. We don’t have time for tire kickers who use us for research and then book their travel elsewhere. But if you are a person that wants to use us and forms a relationship with us, you will be rewarded with excellent service, expert advice, and cost savings (yes, it’s true – online isn’t cheaper!).

  • Mike

    It definitely helps to be an experienced traveler, so you can recognize things that don’t sound right. The first time I flew cross country, my agent didn’t tell me that I would have to change aircraft in Chicago. The itinerary just showed SAN-PHL, but it was one of those “direct” flights with an aircraft change. Now I know how to recognize the codes in the schedules, but imagine my surprise when the flight attendant told me I had to offboard and find my continuing flight at another gate. My luggage didn’t make it, either.

    I would suggest asking your friends. If any of them use an agent and are satisfied, that would be the place to start. I don’t have a good agent these days. The person I liked best retired a few years ago, and I haven’t done anything terribly complicated since then.

    Also, for a flight all on one airline, I find it easier to book directly with that airline. If there is a schedule change or delay, they can just take care of it. Travel agent tickets, including those from online agents, sometimes take more work for the gate agents.

  • GG

    Travel agents can work wonders on international flights; especially for first and business tickets. For one, they work with consolidators. Also a good travel agent can call the airline and get better service and answers than a customer can normally get.

  • Jonathan

    There’s no doubt that a good travel agent, especially for international travel, can be a real timesaver.

    However, if anything (anything!) goes wrong with an airline ticket (wrong seat, or no seat), the airlines always defer to those passengers with airline-issued tickets and boarding passes. Travel agent-issued tickets and boarding passes are referred to as “third party”, and are treated as second-class in cases of discrepancy.

  • Paulette

    Nowadays I only use a TA for major overseas trips. But while I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Farrell that most TAs are idiots, I sure had a bad experience with my last one. A few years ago I was booking a nearly one-month trip to Australia and was steered to an “expert” on Australia travel by our office manager, who used to work at the agency.

    Having traveled to Australia before on a Qantas package, I felt that was the way to go and told the agent so. She disagreed and started keying in information on the flights alone, insisting that she new best. When she told me the flights would be $3,700/person and she would build from there, I insisted that she phone Qantas to see what kind of package they could put together. She very grudgingly did so. Surprise! Qantas quickly put together a package of all flights (Providence to LA to Sydney to Alice Springs to Adelaide; then Sydney to LA to Providence) 4 nights/accommodations, including the most-difficult at Yulara (for Ayers Rock), and 21 days’ car rental for just under $3,000/person — $700 less than the agent had sworn was the best she could do for the flights alone!

    At that point, I should have taken my business elsewhere, but I didn’t want to alienate my co-worker. The problems didn’t end there. The agent never got around to requesting seat assignments. (We had booked nearly a year in advance, and she said she couldn’t get assignments until 30 days’ prior. Admittedly, I should have called to remind her, so I accept part of the blame here.) The car category she rented was too small to hold two large pieces of luggage in the trunk. (Since most of my trips are road trips within the U.S. and Canada, I had never rented a car before and had no clue; I know better now.) And she didn’t know that the rental company didn’t allow its vehicles to be taken on the ferry to Kangaroo Island. Fortunately, the ferry agent in Australia knew the rules and advised us, so we ended up leaving our first rental in a covered garage for $10A a day and renting a car on the island, which because we weren’t taking a car on the ferry only added $25 to our expenses.

    Basically, everything the TA handled was problematical, and everything I did online — other accommodations, activities, etc. — turned out perfectly.

    I’m planning another trip to Oz for next year, and I’ll probably use another TA, but I’ll never go back to that agent — or agency — again. I can’t imagine how much money she has cost people who didn’t do their homework first and trusted her to get “the best deal” for them. This time I’ll use an agent who’s recommended by the Australian Tourist Board.

  • Christine Brusseau

    Often, it’s a toss up! When travelleing to Asia its best to check webfares with both the airline direct and then sites such as Expedia, Orbitz etc. As one blogger mentioned, using a consolidator can be a godsend and save you big bucks. Carriers such as Thai, Korean, JAL etc offer exceptionally good rates to agents that have a large Asian trade and it’s best to check with them as well.
    In Toronto for example, if you want to travel to Hong Kong, there are many agents in Chinatown thant are hands down far better than using the web.
    For local/domestic travel it’s best to go through the airline’s website.
    I was in the airline industry for almost 30 years from the mid-60s until the mid-90s, and believe me it’s a shark tank out there!!

  • Alicia

    Paulette’s story about the Australia trip is very strange indeed. I have yet to meet a travel agent who would rather spend time piecing a package together part by part instead of calling a tour company and booking it all together. It’s cheaper for the customer if the agent uses a tour company 99% of the time, and the travel agent gets paid better by the tour operator than airlines and hotel directly.
    She must not have been that good (or smart) of a agent!

  • paul Susmann

    We live in Singapore. Anyone know any good agents here, or a consolidator? Agents in this part of the world are mostly bullshit and only out to either rip you off or are simply incompetent. We used to use a consolidator on San Francisco but he retired. We’d appreciate some help!

  • Peter Smith

    “As far as deeming most travel agents “worthless” from Bob, it’s interesting that over 50% of all airline tickets are still sold through travel agents, despite the internet.”

    I have to wonder how many of those tickets are booked by corporate travel departments? When I was working for a company with a travel department there were no less than four people with the “booking computers” (I’m not sure as to their official name). While they were employees of the company, they appeared to be handling tickets as if they were travel agents.

  • http://Travgroup.com S Jakob

    When it comes to business class, there is more room to save money through travel agents than coach fares. Airlines offer exclusive deals to my travel company and we are able to offer some amazing deals to our clients including service that you cannot find on a website. For a person who travels once a year the few dollars saved after spending hours of searching the internet may be gratifying but for a business traveler the gratification comes at the end of the year when his travel expenses was minimized by the use of an experienced travel agent with deals.