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.

 

[andrewh3]

Final post to close off this discussion.
1. Once the TA was back in contact and responded, the flights we needed to cancel were successfully cancelled. Having booked through the TA Qantas refused point blank to help. So the lesson is make sure you have a good TA who will be able to respond when there is a problem with your health or a family/work emergency.
2. Refund of airfares was achieved but took between 2-3 months from when the TA cancelled flights to when the funds appeared on my CC account. So make sure you have a healthy CC limit if you need to purchase another flight to replace a cancelled flight but have not yet received the refund.
3. Quotes to change my return flight from the UK were exorbitant so elected to stick with booked return flight. In the end this worked out as my wife's treatment plan was changed. So unless you have a fully flexible fare, any change in a premium cabin is going to be really, really expensive. The 'old days' of an F class ticket being able to changed easily are well and truly gone. Once you have booked and paid, you are going unless you do not mind paying around the same fare again to change (or hope you can claim back on your insurance).
4. Hotel refunds were a lot easier to process and generally occurred within 24-48 hours back to the CC. The 'non-refundable' deposit for one hotel was claimed on the CC travel insurance. This was really painful and every possible barrier was put in place before they coughed up. For example, a letter from an oncologist was said to be 'insufficient' and then wanted a letter from a GP. Once GP letter supplied then wanted copy of hospital admission form. Once this was supplied then wanted copy of pathology results. Seriously? Lesson: do not rely on CC insurance which is then subcontracted to another company on the basis that most people will not persist.
5. I have been using Qantas Titanium card for several years. This is run by NAB in the background and I have found not all that service responsive but have accepted this due to the points accumulated to my QFF account. This experience has highlighted their service limitations: overseas call centre operators, and no email address, so everything is verbal and not documented. After complaining was offered some compensation but will not be enough to keep my custom long-term after this experience. If other have similar issues a recommend going to AFCA: Qantas Credit responded within 72 hours after ignoring me for 3 months! Lesson: accept fewer points and use a CC which offers better customer service and allows email or written correspondence with any insurance claims managed by them and not a third party.
6. Original TA declined to make further bookings for me so I have been considering options. At this stage I have made another booking through another TA who is an AFTA member and was able to obtain a better price that I could direct. Not sure what I will do with next booking!
Thank you to all colleagues who responded previously with helpful suggestions.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for the update.

I think you’ll find all CC insurances are provided by a third party. The cards themselves don’t do it. But there are variances with the underwriters they use.

ANZ I couldn’t fault. That’s also third party but they were fantastic, proactively calling the hospital, speaking to doctors, checking I was ok. Even filled in the claim for me so all I had to do was read and sign it when I got back to Australia.

I noticed last night that even some ‘major’ companies will outsource some of their insurances. The current Budget Direct ad has small print at the bottom saying travel insurance is provided by Zurich.

 

[DC3]

… Original TA declined to make further bookings for me …

 

[Viridis]

Original TA declined to make further bookings for me so I have been considering options.

Frankly, I’m surprised you even bothered trying given the experiences that you’ve documented

For the best I think

Have you considered making the bookings yourself? Just a thought

I have been using Qantas Titanium card for several years. This is run by NAB in the background and I have found not all that service responsive but have accepted this due to the points accumulated to my QFF account. This experience has highlighted their service limitations: overseas call centre operators, and no email address, so everything is verbal and not documented. After complaining was offered some compensation but will not be enough to keep my custom long-term after this experience. If other have similar issues a recommend going to AFCA: Qantas Credit responded within 72 hours after ignoring me for 3 months! Lesson: accept fewer points and use a CC which offers better customer service and allows email or written correspondence with any insurance claims managed by them and not a third party.

I was going to say that all credit card companies are pretty much the same. I have this card too and the Amex Plat. You end up in the same frustrating place with both

But I was pleased to see @MEL_Traveller comments above re ANZ. It is good news that some banks are still capable of this. Sadly it won’t make me change because the reduction in accumulation/redemption value isn’t worth it for the few occasions that I need to speak with a call centre

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But I was pleased to see @MEL_Traveller comments above re ANZ. It is good news that some banks are still capable of this. Sadly it won’t make me change because the reduction in accumulation/redemption value isn’t worth it for the few occasions that I need to speak with a call centre

But really not much is on the bank here, save for their choice of underwriter.

It was the third party insurance that called the hospital etc. ANZ itself wouldn’t have even known.

 

[Warragul]

Frankly, I’m surprised you even bothered trying given the experiences that you’ve documented

For the best I think

Have you considered making the bookings yourself? Just a thought



I was going to say that all credit card companies are pretty much the same. I have this card too and the Amex Plat. You end up in the same frustrating place with both

But I was pleased to see @MEL_Traveller comments above re ANZ. It is good news that some banks are still capable of this. Sadly it won’t make me change because the reduction in accumulation/redemption value isn’t worth it for the few occasions that I need to speak with a call centre

At this stage I have made another booking through another TA who is an AFTA member and was able to obtain a better price that I could direct.

Have you considered making the bookings yourself? Just a thought

The second agent got a better price.