Tiki said:
I can understand why they would charge a fee if they are putting in a lot of work to do a custom booking where they have to do the research, check various fares and send lots of faxes on your behalf.
I do have a problem with paying these fees when I have done all the research, I know exactly what I want and the only reason I have gone to the travel agent is because they are advertising what I want at a cheaper fare or the supplier doesn't do business with the general public. Last year for the Egypt trip, I walked into a Flight Centre after researching online and knew the cheapest fare to get me what I want, I knew what flights were available and had a spreadsheet with exactly what I wanted booked. The agent just copied my data into their system and booked the flights and took a deposit. They provided no knowledge that I didn't already have, but because the fare on TG/KU wasn't available to the public I had to use the agent. SHe didn't even know about the fare until I showed her the printout from an online TA and asked them to beat the fare which she did by $20.
She didn't charge me a booking fee though there was a fee to use my Visa which was all I had back then. Other agents would have charged the standard fee and I can't see justifying it in this case.
Based on my recent experiences I would have to agree with Tiki and disagree with Travel Guru.
I was in a very similar situation to Tiki as I had two adult fares booked ADL to LAX and return SFO to ADL on Qantas FF points and I needed two child fares on the same flights for my kids. Obviously I new the exact dates and flights I wanted and at 12:10am when the fare I was prepared to pay came up I emailed the agent who I had spoken about it to and asked her to book.
When I spoke to her she said no booking fee as I had done all the work and quoted the best available fare which was equivalent to the return fare to LAX. I queried whether the LA fare could be combined with the cheaper SFO fare for the return leg and was told it was not possible so I agreed to pay the return LA fare. They put it through on my card direct to Qantas and I ended up with 3 debits on my card. Two to Qantas and 1 to the agent.
After I later received the ticket the fare on the ticket was the combined LAX / SFO fare which was cheaper than the fare quoted and the 2 debits to Qantas were the ticketed amount with the balance of the airfare quoted being the debit to the agent.
When I queried what happened there was no explanation forthcoming only a litany of lies and patronising insults such as "extra fuel surcharges" and the "ticket issued incorrectly" which were refuted when I contacted Qantas.
Obviously they decided to keep difference between the quoted fare and the ticketed fare but they have at no time disclosed that to me.
So Travel Guru to reply to your points;
1. Presumably if an agent assumes the risk then it is irrelevant whether they or online or have a shop front. As you pay up front before you actually really see what you have got (ie. the ticket) I can assure that there was little interest in resolving the issue.
2. The agent who I dealt with is a member of AFTA but clearly acted outside their code of ethics and I certainly would not be putting any faith in them while I had a problem overseas.
3.As an accountant I can assure you your analogy is flawed. If you walk into my office with all your transactions processed, all bank accounts, GST etc reconciled and hand me a printout to prepare your tax returns of course it will be cheaper than if you bring in a box with all your bank statements, cheque butts, receipts etc in it and leave it with me to process.
I would expect the same at a travel agent. If I tell you what dates, what airline, what flights, what fare etc I don't expect to pay the same as someone who is not sure when they are going, how they are going, and how much they are paying and requires the travel agent's time, knowledge and experience to help them work it out.
So maybe it is the agents having the problem with the new business model not the more well informed consumers with direct access to products that previously had to be purchased through an agent.
Maybe agents should rebate all commissions and work on a fee for service basis only rather than the charge booking fees which are topped up by hidden commissions and fees that the consumer never knows about.
Agents are hanging on to the old business model while trying to get consumers to accept the new one.
Agents want the best of both worlds and that is why more people will try to bypass them.