For airfare, never use a TA. Better fares on-line, convenient hours on-line, consolidator fares, possible on-line bonus, no ticket service fees. Funny thing is, I used to be a TA a very long time ago when FIT's were common and vouchers were issued for tours so clients could prepay. Now it is all package brochures.

Thank you.

It may or may not be what the airlines want, but it's a natural market evolution.

The "agent" who was nothing more than a ticket-writer in the first place is, as some put it, roadkill on the information superhighway. After the 70's or so, I suspect that describes the large majority of today's travel agents.

Like the fee-based financial planner, the fee-based travel agent who can actually provide substantial and substantiated value will thrive.

(Just to whinge a little:) That leaves those of us who are captive to Corporate Agents in the worst possible spot. The company is perfectly willing to pay the agency fee, because it's more than worth it versus the bad rates the average traveller would get, but the clever-and-experienced traveler must use this no-service agent, even though they could do as well or better on their own, or pay the same fee to a high-service agent.

I.e., to borrow from yet another industry, we will see the death of the mid-list. If you are a large agency with corporate customers, who can make a good economic argument for ticketwriting, you're all set. If you are a small agency or single agent, who does, not just can but does, deliver boutique service, you're all set too. If, as an individual agent, you can develop portables, you should be in hog heaven.

If you're a smaller agent who just does ticketwriting... adjust your approach or adjust your skills. Quickly.

--Laird

I see the benefit of having a TA like UAPremierExec.

But, how do you go about finding someone like him?

Why not use UAPremierExec?

VicOsaki: Orbitz uses a combination of different sources, including worldspan, and the airlines still have to pay a fee to Orbitz for tickets sold by it.

The argument that the airlines want to get away from the high crs fees does not wash. With the exception of American that just recently sold off its stake in Sabre, all of the major airlines own controlling interests in the 3 major CRS systems.

The airlines want to reduce their distribution costs to zero and in the long run it will back fire on them unless they change the way they look at things.

I don't know if many are interested in this inside stuff, but oh well.

What makes Orbitz unique is that it goes beyond the Computer Reservations Systems (CRS) used by most travel agents and online reservation systems like Travelocity and Expedia. The site has agreements with more than 450 airlines worldwide, and is able to scan more than two billion possibilities in seconds with its advanced search engine.

The Orbitz search engine is the ITA Software Flight Search Engine, developed by computer scientists from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While other sites allow you to search by lowest fare, specific dates, or particular airlines, Orbitz goes far beyond this with a whole array of options for controlling your search.

What really angers its rivals is the so-called most-favored nation clause in its charter, which effectively means that airlines' Web-only fares are unavailable to other online agencies.

Its rival also question Orbitz's business arrangement with its charter associate airlines where it continues to receive transaction fees even from airlines that have eliminated Internet commissions, such as Northwest and Continental.

For example, Travelocity and Expedia are charging service fees on Northwest and Continental tickets. Orbitz doesn't because it gets a fee from the airlines.

Tango's other points:

Orbitz uses Worldspan as a booking agent for suppliers other than airlines.

When the airlines pay a fee to Orbitz they are paying themselves since they own it.

Orbitz is a shot across the bow of the CRS's that the airlines patience with CRS fees is not infinite. The CRS's are burdened with old technology. They're encrusted with legacy systems that are inefficient by current standards, yet they hesitate to modernize. The CRS's face a dilemma. If they spent to modernizing, it may go down the toilet when suppliers develop their own coordinated systems. If they don't modernize and continue to charge high fees, suppliers will certainly go their own way.

The major CRS's are independent. Amadeus is owned by three European airlines.

You keep saying that travel agents are indispensible, but you give me no evidence other than your bald statement.

Moral, always check Orbitz because their charter members web only fares are displayed only on Orbitz. Also, you can save the service fee on Continental and Northwest by booking on their websites or Orbitz.



[This message has been edited by VicOsaki (edited 11-21-2001).]

I have a few friends that work for Orbitz down here in their call centers near Miami and in Coral Springs, I think, and they're all trained for *only* Worldspan.

In order for a booking to be made, there has to be a link between a "system" and the airline's GDS. It could very well be that Worldspan is their "backbone" on top of the system that access the web fares.

I'm just saying what I know from friends that work there............

heck, even WE use Orbitz here...

-nate

VicOsaki: I am not sold on Orbitz for several reasons:

1)Not everyone will have access to Orbitz since you need to be connected and have access to a credit card. The growth in internet access has leveled off. There will always be a certain percentage of the population who choose not to be connected to the internet.
2)The current law states that each CRS system must provide equal access to all fares. Delta is prohibited from publishing lower fares in WorldSpan and not in the other CRS systems. It could be argued that orbitz is in violation of this law becuase they offer fares that the CRS systems are not offered. The US government has taken a wait and see approach on this. Please remember that the US Govt is still in the process of sueing the airlines to take out the fuel surchages that they place in the tax lines--how long is this taking. . . ?
3)I have access to Sabre and I do not find the Orbitz software any better. If you know how to manipulate the sabre searches, you can do all sorts of things that Orbitz does not let you do. The only advantage orbitz has is the ability to look at all of the web specials on one page but there are other web sites that also do this.
4)Orbitz software is flawed in that it can give you fares that are unbookable or do not exist.
5)Orbitz software only works for domestic flights. All international fares/flights are pulled from airline web specials and/or 100% from Worldspan. The CEO of Orbitz admits that this is a major problem but can't be avoided becuase the complexity of international fares and rules are currently to complicated for the orbitz software to handle.
6)Orbitz does not offer fares on one of the largest airlines in the US---Southwest airlines.
7)The CRS systems have been spending alot of money in investing into their systems. They realize they need to get better at what they do or die out. Sabre has a new search feature that when you put in a fare basis code from the fare shop feature, it will locate all of the flights that can be booked using that fare---very neat.
8)The airlines are working with the agency community to have them book directly into their computer systems thus avoiding even the fee orbitz charges. Air Canada lets travel agents book its web specials. Delta and several other airlines offer selected travel agents access to their direct computer systems for bookings.
9)Most CRS systems allow a direct access feature into the airlines own computer system. Orbitz does not allow this feature.
10)Orbitz is a computer program. Travel agents use the human brain. Need I say more?

I find Orbitz might be a good resource to check on but anyone who uses it as their sole source of information is making a serious mistake.

My faith in the travel agency community rest with the following: It sounds like UApremierExec is a good agent. I challenge anyone to beat his(or my agent) ability to consistently come up with better fares/routings and satisfaction using an online booking source. This challenge is only for buying new tickets.

The challenge does not include changing reservations, rebooking tickets, refunds, using coupons/vouchers and other non basic functions. To include these would be unfair beacause the travel agent would win every single time.

[This message has been edited by Tango (edited 11-21-2001).]

Worldspan is owned by Delta, Northwest and TWA. American is looking for a buyer for their share.

Like nearly every other service business these days, the only way to survive is to "add value". We're very fortunate that our company uses a travel agent who does exactly that. She'll be around for a long time but I fear many "order takers" will fall by the wayside.

I think we can agree. I good agent is a joy forever. Treat him or her nice.

In the spirit of the holidays, let's hope that the airlines and the agents have a reconciliation and live happily together.

The good agents are definitely worth keeping. I knew of an agent who, besides arranging business travel for a company I worked for, also did personal travel for employees.

I admire any agent who can manage to get me on a BOS-LAX flight on Dec. 22nd with less than 5 days notice for a measly $630, especially when AA's PLT desk was quoting me fares well over $1k.