Hi!
As with so many here on FT, my job requires me to fly on a regular basis, primarily from Europe to South America, about once a month. The trips are normally 10-12 sectors: over the Atlantic, through a number of countries in the region and back over the Atlantic, so not always the simplest.
For the last far too many years I have worked for a large firm with a corporate travel agent that handled bookings, on the go re-routing, 24h support by phone and email, etc. While I may have used FT gleaned knowledge to find the most convenient routes and airlines, I had an experienced corporate TA to handle the ticketing and provide negotiated route deals. However, I have just changed employer, and while I will be traveling as much as before, and to the same places, the new firm doesn't have a TA and I'm on my own. I have tried some dummy bookings through Expedia and Kayak, but while they have some good point A to B to A prices and routes, A to B to C to D through L are not so easy or good.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a TA that could and would handle my requirements? I am based in Spain and the UK, but would be just as happy with ticketing being done elsewhere as long as we can communicate. Also, are there any advantages I could exploit in terms of fare or tax/surcharges advantages by having a TA in the US or South America...?

Many thanks!
RP

Post your request on FatwaLLet Travel Discussions.

You'll be immediately inundated with offers to solve your problem(s).

Seriously - A good TA is essential to business travel. Time is money and there is nothing better than calling the 24-hour line for your TA while your diverted aircraft taxis to the terminal so that you have the last seat on the next flight out when you disembark.

Was your last employer's TA in-house or an outside vendor? If outside, call them up and see if they won't handle your work. If inside, call them up and get recommendations for independents who provide the same level of service.

Then interview the prospective TA's, get references and talk with them.

The more time you spend staring at search engines, the less time you are spending making money.

Certainly some good ones around..

Since the airline pulled commissions for airfares, TAs who are still generally in business focus on vacations, and hotel bookings.. Airlines like WS still pay a bit of commission to TAs

What do your new coworkers do?

You might be able to go in together and make it more attractive to a good corporate-type TA that might otherwise pass if it's just you.

Beware as mentioned above that commissions are pretty much nonexistent, and you might have to pay them. (This is how it works at my company, so only the top guys use the TA)

Being in Europe the situation is different than the US in a number of ways.

I would agree that asking your new co-workers as well as asking the former TA are good steps.

It is a fallacy that airlines "pulled commissions for airfares." Only those not knowledgeable of the system say that. Look at airline P&L statements - still millions of dollars in commissions. For domestic travel, no commission is widely true. But definitely not for international travel.

To clarify, my experience in flying is domestic..

But, I imagine I can use a travel agent if booking internationally with tourist packages, cruises and the like.. even if the travel agent doesn't necessarily get paid for the actual flight, a TA will be paid handsomely for the balance of the itinerary..

So pure flights are paid TA commission when travelling internationally?

A good TA for business travel, particularly one with access to 24/7 backup will charge either a fee per ticket, per service, or overall. The key is that depending on your compensation, the TA is more knowledgeable, efficient and able to make things happen (they are sitting at a terminal while you are sitting at a gate). They can also be proactive on longer flights by monitoring connections, notifying your assistant if you will be landing late so your assistant can notify business meeting attendees and the like.

All of this goes into the time is money calculation. If 95% of your travel is on one carrier between two airports such as ORD and LAX, not much a TA can do to make that much better. 10 segments including TPAC with multiple carriers in Asia and you will do better with a TA.

A referral will go a long ways.. because you'll have an idea from the referer what the TA can and cannot do..

TA service is no longer can opener.. TAs specialize in many different areas.. so if you want purely strictly business travel.. a TA or concierge service should specialize in business travel.

All,
thank you for your help with this. My old company had an outsourced TA - Hogg Robinson - and I am trying to talk to their SME team; at the new company there will only really be two of us with this kind of travel, so I imagine it will be tough to get them to help us out.
I have tried the Amex plat concierge, but the experience was not that good (fine for point to point, but they got very confused with something more complex).
Will keep looking.
Thanks again for the help.
RP

Many still get commissions or use larger conglomerates who pass on a healthy commission for international airfare. Sometimes they get special fares with the same or better conditions than the public gets for a lower price. It just depends. Not all international air fares are commissionable, but many (very many) are.

Can't speak to yours, but it's always worth approaching someone you like. They may well want an upfront annual fee because there are no economies of scale for two pax, but doesn't mean they won't do it. When there's only one flight a week out of Timbuktu and only one seat left, the TA who can get it for you is worth their weight in gold.

I'm glad that some airlines is making use of TAs for bookings and paying some commission.. I always thought that the airlines when switching from TA bookings, lost alot of marketing power..

One of the reasons why WS stayed in the black, while AC was wallowing in red..

and upgrades, for example, first class for the price of full business.
priority waitlist clearance
etc

Unless markets are negotiated, my experience is not better fares through the agency, but consolidators can be used for better international fares.

My TA charges a fee for booking airline tickets, but as his rates for C / J are consistently better than I find on the web, it pays for itself. He doesn't charge for hotel bookings (as I assume there is commission) nor for any type of package (again, I assume he gets commission). He is really good, but probably not in the right time zone to make it easy for the OP.