One thing I’ve noticed in a lot of responses to posts is that many travelers have no idea of exactly when and why travel agents charge service fees. It doesn’t help that there is no consistency in the industry. Here’s a little background to perhaps make the fees more understandable.
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Used to doing all of your travel booking? There are times when you should probably pay an agent fee, and here are four of them.
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Many travelers who don’t regularly use travel agents are surprised that; (a) there are still any “brick-and-mortar” agents around, and (b), that anyone still uses them. Admittedly, the internet has helped put a lot of agents out of business, but truthfully, many of those agents weren’t very good in the first place.
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Janice notes travel agents used to have the ability to hold ticketing for various periods, but Lufthansa is eliminating that ability. Will this inflexibility spread to other airlines? Is the age of the ticket procrastinator over>
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With all the high-tech tricks and gadgets available to travelers these days, sometimes the best solutions are still the old-fashioned ones. Sometimes, a way to save money or just find someone to solve a problem, starts with just politely hanging up the phone, and then calling back to talk to someone else.
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Most major airlines have figured out the cash cow of selling some of their better seat assignments. Now British Airways is going them one better, by in most cases charging for all pre-assigned seating
As usual, this change is being announced as “giving you more control.” For the general public, British Airways has only pre-assigned seats for full fare tickets. All passengers travelling on discounted tickets, even discounted business class tickets, must wait until 24 hours in advance. And that option has been only available to passengers who check in online.
Starting October 7, 2009, any passenger can get a pre-assigned seat at any time, up until the online check-on opens. If they pay for it. The cost for a transatlantic flight in economy (World Traveller) or premiim economy (World Travel USD $30 each way. Passengers on discounted business class tickets will pay $90.
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OK, some of you Consumer Traveler readers don’t even use travel agents anymore. And some of you won’t go anywhere without calling your agent first. But as travel agents know, most people are somewhere in the middle
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As airlines and airports seemingly are running out of new fees to charge, Luton Airport near London has hit on a new idea: charge people who aren’t even flying.
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As we move into an era where passengers on U.S. airlines have gotten used to paying for more and more things that used to be free, one question comes to mind: what’s next?
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Air travel being what it is today, a good insurance policy seems like a prudent investment. But there’s another kind of travel insurance out there: a service fee to an agent who can providing money-saving advice in advance and travel assistance during travel.
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