Travel agent gone AWOL

[markis10]

The more general question:
what are the industry protections for clients of a TA?. Could some one summarise please?

None unless, they are an ATIA accredited agency

 

[I love to travel]

I would be interested to know from those who have been happy with him what was so "special" he could do that other TA's can't.

 

[RooFlyer]

I would be interested to know from those who have been happy with him what was so "special" he could do that other TA's can't.

It’s many and varied, but by its nature I don’t think it could be discussed here.

Some could be done by other TA’s if they knew how, but I don’t think many other things could.

 

[drron]

I would be interested to know from those who have been happy with him what was so "special" he could do that other TA's can't.

As I said saved thousands. I had been. using OW Circle Asia fares that were ~ $A5000 in J. He put together itineraries that more than matched the miles but at~ $3500 in J and 5500 in F. If a sale then F could be 4500. Now it meant 2 BA F flights but we also had more JAL flights in F and a few on CX.
Our TA who is excellent couldn’t match it. Helped Mrsdrron retain WP and me get BA gold.

 

[justinbrett]

I would be interested to know from those who have been happy with him what was so "special" he could do that other TA's can't.

It’s not about what you know - it’s who you know.

 

[Cynicor]

It’s not about what you know - it’s who you know.

I think this case it’s also what you know. He deeply understands the booking engines (from memory Amadeus) and the airline side commands and data fields better than almost all TAs

Most TAs don’t deeply understand what they are doing anymore, outsourcing ticketing but also relying on the GUI functionality overlaid on the GDS, which often lacks the intricacies of the DOS-style commands.

On top of that he reads and understands the routing rules and can spot where that may leave room for either issues or advantage.

I work as a TA and still refer people to him!

 

[justinbrett]

I think this case it’s also what you know. He deeply understands the booking engines (from memory Amadeus) and the airline side commands and data fields better than almost all TAs

Most TAs don’t deeply understand what they are doing anymore, outsourcing ticketing but also relying on the GUI functionality overlaid on the GDS, which often lacks the intricacies of the DOS-style commands.

On top of that he reads and understands the routing rules and can spot where that may leave room for either issues or advantage.

I work as a TA and still refer people to him!

It's definitely both - but I think the case for his skills and knowledge has been well documented in this thread - I'm just adding another layer that hasn't been discussed.

 

[craven morehead]

Actually I can to a degree confirm this. I tried on a few occasions to utilise MR services but was unsuccessful. I had assumed due to the lack of response they were extreme busy and not requiring more work

Same here

 

[karen blancfield]

As a data point, MR is my TA and while he’s been quiet on WhatsApp etc he’s been very responsive to well titled emails where I’ve clearly laid out what I need and by when - as recent as this week.

Legally if you are on QF stock and the funds have gone to QF, your ticket remains valid regardless of what happens to the TA. I can’t speak to the situation of OP but there’s a fair bit of pile on going on in this thread by people who have no business with him.

MR has gone above and beyond for me over the years and his expertise is quite rare - I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to hand my phone over to a check in agent while he’s walked them through how to fix something in their system.

The amount of free advice and assistance he’s given to AFF members over the years shows his character, and frankly I’m appalled at the mud slinging that’s gone on in this thread. He is one guy and when you are his client you go in to that with your eyes open, it’s not a flight centre business he’s running.

I feel the same. Have used MR for many years and have referred at least 8 other people to him. His style may not work for everyone, but we have really appreciated his knowledge and willingness to assist.

I hope he has been able to have a bit of a break.