Interesting Read

[DNOMYAR_5791]

The End for Travel Agencies?

 

[buddy]

Dyno,

Thanks for posting. I read the article and even though I don't fly much, it should pose a bit of a problem for those that do.

 

[ryson]

The problem with travel agencies is that it seems that they do not give you the exact itinerary that you want. Another issue is that 25% of the people who fly generate 80% of the big airlines cash flow, which are business travelers. When you deal with a corporate travel agent they tack on a fee just for booking the ticket and then were getting juice from the airlines. I have made 28 round trip flights so this year so I do have some experience from the customer?s point of view. Airlines cater to business travelers, when you get to a certain mileage status they offer incentives to book directly with their people. Myself and many of my colleagues who travel often have given up on our corporate travel agents just due to mistakes. I mainly use e-tickets, I have had times when I booked a flight two weeks in advance for say for $250, well the travel agent booked it as a paper ticket never sent me the ticket therefore I am not on the flight because I need that paper ticket. That has happened to me 3 times in the last year and I needed to travel, so I had to buy a ticket right there and pay $2000+ for the last minute ticket. Granted the travel agent eats the cost of the ticket for their screw up, but it?s still a fight. My suggestion to anyone who doesn?t travel much book through the airline, it makes life a lot easier. Although I must admit when it comes to package type deals (air, hotel, car etc) all rolled into one a travel agent is the way to go for the inexperienced traveler.

Just my .02