Looking to enroll in a Travel Agent Certification Program
 

I would love to have a career as a Travel Agent and am planning on enrolling in an online program. As travel is my passion and hobby I would like to share it with other people. I am planning on specializing in Special Needs travel for individuals with disabilities, Specialty travel as well as cruising and luxury travel. Corporate travel and tour bookings for the music industry could also be other parts to look into as I love music and would love to work in the entertainment industry. Possibly later down the road I would look to work as a tour manager as I love working out the logistics. While the job is tiring I love being in Rome on Monday, Sydney Tuesday and seeing the various entertainment venues.

It sounds like I should join a host agency to get my commission and IATA/IATAN and CLIA cards as well as Fam trip benefits.

I know that a lot of travel booking is done online but there are still people who want the additional touch.

I will use FlyerTalk as my database to learn about various airline products, read trip reports and of course post reports from my FAM trips once I'm at that stage.

Now for some background on why I would like to have a career in the travel industry. Does this ring true for my fellow FTer's?

When I was young I loved reading all the airline schedule books(remember the OAG guide). SJC airport would send us in the mail the OAG guide and I enjoyed getting it every quarter. I loved the AAA TripTik CD before online mapping services were popular and would spend hours planning road trips.

When EasySabre came out I tried it out and had a lot of fun playing around with interesting itineraries. I remember having a game where I would find the longest nonstop flights from one city to the next. I was learning my airport codes, airline codes, fare codes at the age of 11.

Remember when Expedia would let you book online and would send the tickets in the mail? I remember trying out Expedia for a flight back in 1995 and enjoyed the novelity of booking online.

In 1996 I took my first international trip alone and remember flying on TWA from JFK. I remember actually going to the travel agent and getting physical paper tickets with the note"Coupon must be attached" on the boarding pass.

When I would come home from school(before the days of FlightAware) I would call up the TWA FLIFO system in the weeks before and made a chart of the ontime performance. What time the plane was taxing to the gate etc. I remember the friendly female voice saying "TWA Flight 884 has left the gate but is not yet off the ground please call back in 10 to 15 minutes for an update. This was before the crazy voice automated system. On this system you had to key in the airport code and select from it.

Back in the early days of online checkin I would use the AA website for the bonus 500 miles. I remember testing out the prototype Alaska WebCheckin in 1999 although I was not flying with them they selected a few to checkin for dummy flights. In return I got something which I forget but it was cool.

When SJC was going through the remodel process I gave long e-mail lists about what restaurants I would like to see such as Brioce Doree, Le Boulanger, Illys, Pizza My Heart etc and they used a lot of my ideas.

On the Grand Opening of Terminal B I signed up for both days and spent hours just enjoying the terminal. I did lots of planespotting too.

Back in 2001 when AA started their SJC-CDG service I went for the press party and had such a fun time meeting with the executives and fellow people.

In 2000 when SFO opened their International Terminal I signed up to be part of their trial to test out the departure and arrivals. We boarded a United 747 and went through the checkin process and spent time in the newly opened lounge and then went onboard. Then we arrived and tested out the new customs hall. We had our passports and they stamped a separate award with a US Customs Stamp. We were given the Customs Declaration Form on the plane which we filled out.

They wanted us to pack a suitcase with light clothes. We checked our bags in and then we got it on the carousel. They added an orange to my bag to test the agriculture check and dogs. We got to meet the dogs and their handlers.

I also remember in middle school our Social Studies teacher had us create a pretend trip to Australia. One of the students Mother was a travel agent. I was the creative one and typed out a real itinerary using EasySabre for the flight schedule. prices etc.

I called up the various hotels and added the history about the locations(I chose Sydney, Melbourne and Carins). Since my Cousin was from Sydney he sent me some promo from the Qantas IFE guide for my poster.

When I presented the itinerary to my teacher she was amazed at how I was able to get the entire logistics down to the schedule. It was so much fun. I spent hours and hours planning for my presentation as we had to present it as if we were selling the tour. At the end of the presentation I opened it up for questions. One question I got was how does the travel agent book the fight. So I spoke about fare codes that each class of service is divided up into various fare codes and the sooner you book the better flight schedule and pricing you would have.

As time went on and I traveled around the USA and abroad I found ways to get upgrades at hotels etc.

As a kid I remembered flying on Southwest from Terminal 1 Gate 1 by the US Airways Lounge wondering what is behind the door. I was tempted to ring the bell but didn't. In 2008 I learned about Priority Pass Lounge Access and started visiting the "closed door" private clubs.

I want to share my passion of the travel industry with the people that I plan to serve. I could spend hours looking up schedules, hotels and other logistics and would enjoy working with clients to get the best deal and most memorable vacation.

The travel industry I hope will expand and there will be more of a need for travel agents as the economy improves. Too many times people get impersonal service and I want to bring back the personal service to the industry with my passion and love. While this is not a million dollar job the incentives are cash too like FAM Trips etc.

Your opinions would be so valuable on a career in this field and I know there are lots of people who would love a career in this field but I have such a passion for seeing the world and helping others to explore the world.

While I appreciate the autobiography, I think you are looking for a travel agent school. If you have money to burn, go for it. Otherwise go work for a travel agency and get paid to do it.

I believe this existing thread shall point you to the right direction:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...vel-agent.html

You must be quite the trendsetter to have booked with Expedia in 1995. They didn't even start developing their platform until 1996.

And IIRC from other posts, the OP is around 29 years of age. So in 1995, would have been around 11. Booking trips online at 11? Hmmm.......

Enjoying my Travel and Tourism Specialists Program with Penn Foster
 

Back in July I enrolled in the Travel Specialists Career Program with Penn Foster and I'm really enjoying learning about the travel industry. They had modules on North American/International Air Travel, Geography, Culture, Hotels , Cruises, Rental Cars, Trains and now coming up I will be taking the Sabre training program.

A lot of the information I learned from FlyerTalk and other sources. When I was 11 I was interested in the Travel Industry and learned about EasySabre and got the opportunity to try it out. I also enjoyed reading the OAG and viewing online resources.

My intention is to join a Host Agency and specialize in the cruise industry as well as plan trips for individuals with special-needs. It would be my dream to work onboard Cruise Ships or Airlines as their Special Services Coordinator assisting passengers with disabilities as well as book trips.

I look forward to FAM trips, touring cruise ships, airports etc. I know the travel industry is changing but I know that my passion will lead me to the right position. I'm even looking at various options such as corporate travel for Silicon Valley Biotech Companies, Meeting Planning, Tour groups etc.

I know I will take advantage of all the benefits of the travel industry flying on premium airlines and getting as many discounts as possible.

I can't wait to learn Sabre and how the database system works. I also plan on joining ExpertFlyer and KVS tools as well.

Any tips to help me with my future career in the travel industry are most appreciated.

Enjoying my Travel and Tourism Specialists Program with Penn Foster
 

If you want to join a cruise line why not just apply now and work your way up? More than likely they won't be very interested in your course as they do their own specific training.

Enjoying my Travel and Tourism Specialists Program with Penn Foster
 

Congrats on pursuing your passion.

I wouldn't say this in the job interview if I were you.

In all seriousness.... in the 1980s and 1990s I knew several travel agents who were basically in it to indulge themselves with FAM trips and free stuff. They had a great time but rendered poor service to their clients, as they became shameless shills for whatever airlines or cruise lines had bribed them best. By 2000 or so they had all been knocked out of business as travelers took control thanks to the Internet.

Only really competent travel professionals survive today. If you are in it for yourself and not your customers' best interest, you won't last.

What I meant to say is that by taking FAM trips I can help my clients with booking their trips. I am in it to see clients have a great trip and to learn as much as I can about various destinations.

That's not exactly what you said when you wrote:

You have to decide. And, again, the only real tip I have for you is that if you don't stow your own agenda and genunely work on behalf of your clients, you'll be found out.

I've never heard of Penn Foster - is this an accredited travel program or some website associated with a card mill?

FAM trips and premium airlines? If this is why you want to work in travel, you'd better think about a different career. The perks are not what they were years ago and you need to lower your expectations, especially if you're going to work with a host agency.

Three seconds with Google and you'd have your answer. It's an accredited online career school, like University of Phoenix. They offer all sorts of courses. I have no idea how much value the degrees it awards have in the employment world though. The website is conspicuously silent on placement rates, etc.