Book Online or through an Agent?

[BensAdventures]

I have two maybe three international trips planned for the next 6 months, and I have been moving between booking online and through and agent and I am yet to see if there is an advantage for me one way or the other.

I will be flying through Asia (potentially a short stopover) to Frankfurt, then home. I will most likely look for a good value Business Class fare, or a mixed fare.

Later in the year, I will then be flying to the US and having a range of meetings in at least four different cities. As part of this trip I will possibly add a Mexican element for a few days.

For Frankfurt last time I booked it through an agent and for my last US trip with a number of cities I booked it online through QF.

Do some agents get access to better fares? If so you do you know which agent to choose? I can simply shop around, then compare online, but I thought I would ask for your collective advice considering there are a number of travel agents on this forum. Anyway over to you all....

 

[Travel Guru]

Some TA's definately have access to better fares than others on SOME (not all) airlines.

The 3 main types are Corporate netts (which are esp. handy on QF), Wholesale fares and Private fares.

Generally most retail agents don't have access to either of the 3 fares and generally just deal in the same retail netts that you'll find through online agents.

Finding an agent who does access them doesn't always mean you're going to save money because not all airlines have discounted fare types, and to be honest, if you're looking for a TA, shop first on service and second on price because saving $100 on a fare but being stuck dealing with an incompetent TA isn't very good value in my eyes.

Hope that helps, being a TA I cant really offer an unbiased view on online vs TA's, but hope that info on fares helps none the less.

TG

 

[markis10]

No set answer can be given without a lot more detail being provided, I suggest do your research online, see what you can come up with then take it to a travel agent and see what a professional can do for you!

I suggest you have a look at some of threads regarding Done4's as well as buying tickets online overseas, a little bit of creative thinking can make the weird world of airline pricing work for you, especially if you happy to go the wrong way round or via a longer route.

 

[drron]

Firstly it depends on the type of person you are and your values-is price the single most important factor?
Second it depends on your relationship with your TA-i use a TA for all my international air travel.Most domestic travel i book online as well as hotels.
Why do I use a TA-I get notified of special fares as they are released.I find out about special events eg the Rick stein cooking school mrsdrron attended recently.I can book 12 months out yet only pay 6 weeks out or if a significant price rise.
But most important when things go pear shaped i email my TA and know everything that can be done will be done.
Of course it is not all one sided-when booking i email a list of flights with times and flight numbers-she gets spoiled as well.

 

[Travel Guru]

Firstly it depends on the type of person you are and your values-is price the single most important factor?
Second it depends on your relationship with your TA-i use a TA for all my international air travel.Most domestic travel i book online as well as hotels.
Why do I use a TA-I get notified of special fares as they are released.I find out about special events eg the Rick stein cooking school mrsdrron attended recently.I can book 12 months out yet only pay 6 weeks out or if a significant price rise.
But most important when things go pear shaped i email my TA and know everything that can be done will be done.
Of course it is not all one sided-when booking i email a list of flights with times and flight numbers-she gets spoiled as well.

It's no wonder she looks after you drron, guys like you are good quality TA's dream client, someone who shows a mutual respect, realises that TA's cant fix everything when they cant go wrong and someone who's values service over a rock bottom price.

TG

 

[harvyk]

I'm a +1 for using a good TA, the thing is it's the person not the agency which makes the difference IMHO.

A good TA will have knowledge of where your planning on going (and may even have been there and thus can offer first hand advice), will advice you where you may encounter problems (such as if a connection is legal, but likely to cause problems anyway) and most importantly will give you a single contact point if needs be, so if you have a problem with a hotel or airline, you call the TA on the one number rather than trying to track down the contact details for the company giving you grief, and they can track down which company needs the kick up the back end, and do it for you \ rearrange flights \ accom if required.

BTW yes if you already know which flights you wish to take and simply hand a TA a list, they will love you for it.

 

[landdownunder]

I have personally found that booking online (with a bit of research) is fine and has saved me quite a bit of money.

 

[BensAdventures]

In the end I researched online, found the best price, then spoke with a few Travel Agents, found who I liked and trusted and negotiated from there. Save a couple of hundred dollars, maximised my Status Credits, can not be happier!

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

I tend to use web sites to gt an idea, and now that some let u do multi city bookings it's easier to do some of the more complex fares.

I've noticed with expedia that sometimes using the US version gives me cheaper fares than the AU version.

Sometimes you need to go to the airline's web site direct.

I'm in a "lucky" situation where some nites shifts at work I can be my own TA n scour quite a few sites to get the best deal for flights, hotels and pre booked activities.

A good TA might save u money on flights, but not so sure if they will save u money on your hotels, unless you get a good land package deal, but my travel doesnt tend to lend itself to getting a good deal with land fares.

 

[htchapman]

I have always booked my own flights if they are straight forward (120+ per year).

Recently I've needed to book to Sao Paulo and Calgary so I have a travel agent now. They are able to get the price cheaper than I can in all instances. Also helps in countries you aren't familiar with where they know the infrastructure better and can suggest alternative routes, airlines and airports.

So they still have their place IMO.

 

[drron]

Well just had another instance.On May 1 the QF DONE4 fare rose $300.So I was informed and paid up on April 30 for our August DONE.This savings was greater than the TA's fee by a considerable margin.Just glad I dont have to be keeping an eye on these things-it is all done for me.

 

[browski]

Maybe it depends upon the:

• Tools at your disposal (On-line flight search engines, Int'l Airline booking websites, On-line Travel agent booking sites)
• available time to research flight options, connections, flight classes, specials stc
• Confidence/Competance levels

Most importantly, it also depends upon your ability to get on-line when on-the-road.

If in doubt, use a TA. If you meet the above criteria, then DIY. If you meet the above criteria but still use a TA, I doubt the TA will be happy with your business because clients like you will be screwing down the margins anyway.

 

[Grandma's Wings "]

Over many years I had the one T/A who became like family.. she even carried my C/Card info when she changed to different companies and it was only a matter of a phone call to her and everything would be organised for me... Then she left to get married and move O'seas.. What was I to do..??

I then started searching all airlines for particular areas that I wanted to visit and soon became proficient enough to book online and also know what the fares would be.. even to the point of working out layover times at airports and using different airlines. Not necesarily Code share flights....No problems at all and I'm 71 years young..

A couple of weeks ago I thought I would ask a well known advertised T/A Franchise to see what the airline fares would be to Vancouver ... She could not be bothered even looking at me let alone show any interest in my query... so that is one office I will certainly avoid and would tell others...

If you are as lucky as I was in the beginning and have a good T/A who really knows you as a person and looks after you & has your interest.. stick with them otherwise go look on the internet and learn as I have.. then you can have the best of both.

Grandma who loves to Fly.

 

[farmboy]

No contest, it has to be electronic only.
Why?
Because I want to have exactly the same information on my screen, as is in the airline's computer.
Why?
A couple of year's ago I bought two business class seats to London, the airline is not the issue so I won't mention its name.
We had fully paid documented-confirmed paper tickets in hand. The airline documentation was crystal clear that re-confirmation was not necessary.

So we turned up at check in and were told that our paper tickets had not been through some internal process that I did not understand, but it meant that we had no business class seats.

In the event, we were found business calls seats for four hours of the trip, and back seats in cattle class for 8 hours of the trip.

Later, we got total compensation of $700 for the debacle.

The fault was with the online travel agent, who admitted fault.

Nothing would ever induce me to rely on a paper ticket again.

 

[Dougo]

Over many years I had the one T/A who became like family.. she even carried my C/Card info when she changed to different companies and it was only a matter of a phone call to her and everything would be organised for me... Then she left to get married and move O'seas.. What was I to do..??

I then started searching all airlines for particular areas that I wanted to visit and soon became proficient enough to book online and also know what the fares would be.. even to the point of working out layover times at airports and using different airlines. Not necesarily Code share flights....No problems at all and I'm 71 years young..

A couple of weeks ago I thought I would ask a well known advertised T/A Franchise to see what the airline fares would be to Vancouver ... She could not be bothered even looking at me let alone show any interest in my query... so that is one office I will certainly avoid and would tell others...

If you are as lucky as I was in the beginning and have a good T/A who really knows you as a person and looks after you & has your interest.. stick with them otherwise go look on the internet and learn as I have.. then you can have the best of both.

Grandma who loves to Fly.

Couldn't agree more with you Grandma. Some of the large T/As will push for a prefer to only flog products for which they receive higher commissions which of course is the least transparent part of the transaction. You can work those T/As out in a minute when you walk into their shop and ask for certain brochures or costs and see if you get what you ask for.

I certainly do my research before going to a small local T/A who has a very good rep. So why do I do my own research? In part to work out what I really want to do and also to discuss different products and more importantly, different options, with my T/A.

So why do a use a T/A? Well in part for some "comfort reasons" as Drron notes, but also if I can't save a reasonable amount of money, I'd rather put my business with a local business who hopefully will get the commission for the sale.

 

[trooper]

Had my first TA experience in years in the last 48 hours. (So I had to laugh at the Newsletter.. what timing!)

Found an itin on ITA that I simply could NOT replicate online... Swallowed my pride and looked around the local travel agencies.. chose one I liked the look of and emailed with an initial inquiry. Got a sensible response SAME day.... So a good impression straight off.

Went in there yesterday with my itin in hand... the young agent I dealt with was friendly, competent AND enthusiastic. It became obvious fairly quickly why I couldn't replicate the itin... but she rapidly offered sensible alternatives... and put it all into the system.

E-tickets e-mailed to me today....:mrgreen:

I'll be going there again... I can't see the point of spending hours fiddling with the online resources.. when it can all be done so much quicker on a proper GDS (right term??)

So... for me, like many others.. it will now be a question of "simple=online", everything else will go to that same agent. I've been won over!

 

[donled]

I am planning an overseas trip and want to use my frequent flyers points. If I book online I plan to use my FF points (350,000) either for the full fare or for an upgrade.
My question is will a TA do my booking for me using the FF points and if so can they better maximise the cost advantage of using up the FF points.

Ledo

 

[kiddus]

Over the last few years I have been to Japan , on an average of every 8-12 months.Initially I bought through a reputable Agent with mixed results.The flight was well priced (Aus$1400) but choice of hotel for that first night on arrival was selected from a generic listing, with a range of prices.It was expensive for a very basic bed.Next time I spent quite a while on the net and eventually got a return airfare for $600 ,found my own hotel for 60% less.Trip number 3 , airfare $700 and by now I had a very good idea of what were the best business hotels and how to get the best rates (average for a night is now AUS$ 69.95) even cheaper if you stay in minshuku or guesthouses.Trip 4 splurged on a sale business class fare (happy as a pig in mud) stepped up in style and comfort for those first and last nights in Japan.Related my costs and hotel preferences to a friend in that reputable agency and she was flabbergasted to know how much I'm saving. On average I can now save around $500 on a bed for 2-4 nights, airfares are like picking out of a hat, as they are never consistent.Use agency's to compare with my efforts, I still manage to beat them.Been travelling regularly for 39 years and reckon the NET is the way to go.

 

[Suncoaster]

I've just booked another trip - Aus to Europe
BNE-DPS-SIN-LHR-ROM and similar back but from Paris without the Bali leg.
I shopped around online a lot and found the best deal with reasonable arrival times.
I like matrix.itasoftware.com for flights.

I thought to give the local agent the business, so took the itinerary to them and asked them to book for me.
They reserved the seats, but did more research and we ended up changing one flight (via LHR instead of Paris).
This flight change saved us nearly $1000 (2 people) with little timetable change.

I've done this several times over the years, and every time the agent has either saved me money, or been able to design an itinerary that I could not replicate online.

Domestic flights or single flights are easy - shop online.

Accommodation is another matter - I prefer to book myself, online if possible (tripadvisor was good, it's now too popular), or directly by phone.
Rob

 

[FF058]

I agree with Drron. I use our TA for international travel and domestic air travel but look after accommodation myself. I have called my TA about 6 times to sort out airline issues which has taken the pressure off me while away.