www.travel.com.au -- Opinions on them?

[Mal]

Havn't dealt with them before for booking flights, but interested in one of their airfares that I can't find elsewhere.

I'm probably up for a $50 service fee per this link travel.com.au - as the fare I'm interested in doesn't seem to be able to be booked online.

There doesn't seem to be a credit card surcharge which is a +ve.

So has anyone used them for flights? Any comments?

They do seem to have been around for quite a while.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I used them a few years ago to book a flight, had no problems whatsoever, mind you i didn't fly often back then. Just a simple ticket, mailed to me etc..

Though the agent I dealt with at the time no longer works there, so I haven't used them since.

 

[mabunji]

Hi Mal,

I have used travel.com.au frequently in the past - no major issues.

I switched my allegiance to Zuji.com.au about a year ago - I was finding better prices, also for a period travel.com.au were overstating taxes and fees (to their advantage) - became a hassle having to argue to get the prices corrected (this was about a year ago - hopefully they have now fixed the booking engine).

Not sure why you need assistance (and a $50 fee) ?. Booking online is simple and safe. The only time I needed assistance was to book a stopover - the booking engine no longer allows you to do this - used to before they 'improved' it.

Assume you have already checked Zuji for the fare ?. Other option is to take a printout from travel.com to Flight Centre - they are supposed to beat all prices. My experiences have been mixed - had 1 wonderful consultant who gave great service - she moved to a corporate role, thereafter I took my chances with Flight Centre staff who seemed to resent discounting their prices (losing commission ?), tried to impose credit card fees, always tried to sell overpriced and unwanted insurance. The discount offered was always hard work and not worth sacrificing a lunch hour queing in a travel agent.

 

[serfty]

... Other option is to take a printout from travel.com to Flight Centre - they are supposed to beat all prices. ....

mabunji, welcome to AFF.

There a great site to use for this sort of thing; it will show differing options based on time/proice/connections etc. You can generate an itinery for this which you can print out and take to flight centre

ITA Software: Login (If asked to log in, simply select the "Log in as a guest" option.)

 

[Mal]

It's a Around the World type fare, so cannot be booked online.

Still thinking about my options, but happy to hear that others have had good times with the website.

Thanks for the info!

 

[mabunji]

RTW tickets require a fair bit of work by the travel agent - I don't object to paying a fee under these circumstances.

However, if you read through the blurb for each of the RTW schemes offered by travel.com you will see :-

" Prices shown include travel.com.au Travel Experts' Service Fee"

The $50 should not be an issue for you.

The Star Alliance website has tools to calculate mileage (staralliance.com). There is most likely a similar tool for Oneworld somewhere out there. Having chosen a scheme and built a sample flight schedule I guess you could aways approach Flight Centre with the quote to see if they will price beat ?.

 

[clifford]

Answers not what you hoped for, eh Mal?

I've used travel.com.au many times and had no problems.

I'd use them again (if the price was right), and tell Helen (the GM) that Cliffie sent you.

Helen's a nice person.

 

[Mal]

Answers not what you hoped for, eh Mal?

I've used travel.com.au many times and had no problems.

Nah just havn't got round to booking the ticket yet. Many other things on my plate at the moment and that trip doesn't need to be organised yet