AA_EXP09

I have had TAs resell tickets through wholesale buyers and have to talk to them in order to get something done.
You should get experience first if you want the qualifications for the IATA card.

tcook052

Shouldn't but with some clients it can be as the myriad of programs with ineligible booking classes or only partial miles isn't deciphered quickly or easily and would take time to research. A client who is paying for ticketing but getting no FFP/FFM insights might just decide they could do it themselves if they're already doing half the job anyway.

TH310

I'm concerned about you purchasing these tickets with your own credit card. The least expensive tickets are non-refundable. What if you book something and he has to re-schedule? The University is certainly not going to reimburse you for a trip that he did not take. You could lose the amount you paid for the ticket, which could be hundreds of dollars. Some Universities do not reimburse until after the trip has taken place. So, you could potentially purchase a ticket in January for March and not be reimbursed until April.

Also, the University's Accounting department will expect the receipts to be in his name, not yours. I think you will have trouble getting reimbursed. I would talk to the Accounting Department about this process before going forward. They will have a lot of arcane rules that will make the payment (or repayment) process slow and painful.

I think that Ghadji1 has the right idea of booking travel for bands or other small entities without the bureaucracy that will come with a University. And I would not use my own credit card for someone else under these circumstances.

elf618

If its anything like my university it will take a few months AFTER he returns and turns in triplicate copies of boarding passes and perhaps napkins from all restaurants and the firstborn child of the hotel concierge to get any reimbursement only for things paid in the employees name. Good luck!

fti

Sounds like a myriad of potential issues, as mentioned above. If you book through an OTA, first of all they will charge their own fee. Then you charge yours. Then, as was mentioned, what about the issue of changes? What a nightmare trying to go through an OTA to make changes.

If you pursue this, you need a partnership with a TA that has access to a GDS. Otherwise it will be way too much effort for the reward.

Annalisa12

I book with a Travel Agent in case something goes wrong and then the fault lies with the Agent to fix it or reimburse me. I've told the agent that and she agrees it's a good idea. Last time I saw her a few months ago she said they'd gotten an article discussing the millions of dollars spent on non refundable tickets etc that were booked wrongly and the non travel agent person booking it lost their money.

Just wondering what might happen if there is an accidental error in booking? Could you be left with a big charge?

AA_EXP09

IATA resolution 890 also prohibits this.
TA handbook, page 129, resolution 890, section 1.4

AA_EXP09

Depends.
Sometimes it could be the airlines fault, sometimes that of the agent.
If the former, the airline manages the booking and modifies it as they see fit to remedy the error.
If the latter, the agent could be reprimanded through ADM or revocation of plating privileges.