Flight Centre vs QF WP experience

[voulez]

Hi all, my work mandates booking international trips via Flight Centre and as the agent is not the most proactive in identifying best routing (vs cost, timing, etc.), I'd typically resort to planning my own RTW itinerary via Qantas website/phone, which the FC agent will subsequently replicate and price match. A key selling point for using FC is the 24/7 access if something goes wrong, but I'm wondering if their assistance will be materially better than if I contacted Qantas directly for assistance as a WP? E.g. flight availability/flexibility, priority, etc.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Is there any benefit from using a travel agent? Yes. Sometimes they can get better fares and routings that you can't find on Google Flights or elsewhere. And if you are building complex itineraries that take advantage of specific fare codes, they may very well be the only way you can book said flight. So I wouldn't be put off initially by having to use a travel agent be it Flight Centre or some other outfit. At the same time, having to book through a travel agent or booking platform like Egencia, means that your company can enforce certain travel policies (i.e. booking into a specific fare class to take advantage of a discount they have with Qantas or other airline partners) which can work in your favour if that means that you are booked into a Flex fare instead of a discount economy fare, as was the case for me when I had to book a Qantas flight at work a couple of months ago.

Your point about whether they can provide better support than Qantas. Well I haven't used Flight Centre yet, but what I will say is that they surely can't be worse than the QF agents who routinely muck up itineraries, not ticketing the flights in time, getting names and dates wrong, plus of course waiting on hold for hours with QF. With that being said, there have been reports on this forum of negative experiences with Flight Centre (like this post and this post). The most valuable thing you can be as a frequent traveller is an informed one who knows their rights and knows how to navigate the various booking tools. In that way when things go pear shaped you can call up Qantas or the Flight Centre and get things sorted rapidly

 

[SYD]

Is there any benefit from using a travel agent?

OP was referring to "work" travel. It's usually mandated for many reasons eg tracking travel expenses and access to specific discounts etc

Your point about whether they can provide better support than Qantas.

If ticketed on a QF flight, WPs will be treated the same as any other WP (which is generally pretty good especially if there are disruptions/cancellations on the day). If on another OW carrier, most treat OWE very well regardless of booking channel. I've had some really good experiences with AA, AY, BA, CX and probably others.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Guessing not retail FC, but this-->FCBT Search LP: B

Years ago a customer that had me use a Flight Centre business TA for flights to the sites. Not the name above, and cant remember name/web site. Were very average. The retail FC staff work on a commission basis and was sure this FC corporate TA had staff doing the same. For their $$ benefit and not the customers.

 

[jpp42]

My company uses a travel agent nominally, but we are set up with Concur for booking which is way better a booking engine than Qantas or Flight Centre would ever dream of, along with all the reporting and tracking functionality the company needs. The itineraries are booked in the name of the agent but we never speak to them unless there was some kind of emergency situation. Maybe it's worth advocating that your company move to a travel agency that can facilitate self-service booking like this, while still incorporating a certain level of controls and reporting?

Airlines have reduced their commissions significantly so it's harder for traditional agents to maintain their business in the old fashioned way. I'm not sure how it works with our corporate setup, but it might be that the commission goes to pay for the Concur booking engine and only a smaller amount left for the agency to cover for the rare situation in which we would need to contact them. When we purchase non-commissionable fares like some low-cost airlines, there's a small booking fee added (like $5 per segment).