Are Travel Agents Obsolete?

Do you actually require a travel agent to find you the hottest flight deal. If you are merely considering a domestic trip what does a travel agent do for you? Nowadays not a lot, they simply click a few keys on their keyboard to locate you a flight and add on a reservation cost for doing it.

In the past before the net took off people did not have access to all the special prices and deals on offer. Now matters are very different and the airlines do not have to bank on leechlike travel firms to sell their flights for them. Travel agents have been bypassed as a cheap distribution option for numerous airlines and holiday firms. It was wasteful for airlines to open agencies everywhere so they paid travel agents a commission, which was added on to the fares.

Now umpteen flight companies no longer pay agents any commission as they have now deducted this portion of the fare to trim prices to help them contend better with the low cost airlines that do not give travel firms anything. So if you go to a travel agent they will normally be more expensive than an airline business would be by reserving direct with them as they will probably add on a booking fee.

Luckily for some travel agents there are still individuals who are quite happy to just go into their office and have everything done for them. There is a place for travel firms despite the arrival of the net but not for simple journeys especially on standard flight journey such as Las Vegas to Los Angeles or Manchester to London. These itineraries are simple to check and there is no requirement to pay a travel agent to manage it for you.

It is better to use a travel agent for complicated journeys or for a tailor made journey visiting a few countries and that involves a few assorted flight alternatives. If you are planning a journey like this look for an agent that concentrates in this and shop about as there will be a big difference in prices.

Save yourself money by just simply going on the internet and find all the flight companies that operate the itinerary that you require and compare the prices. Why pay a travel agent additional cash just to input in your credit card details for you.

Find the best Newcastle flights and travel deals with travel tips and advice from Brian Newton of travel web site Travel Snips

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