Why using a travel agent may be your best insurance policy

Air travel being what it is today, a good insurance policy seems like a prudent investment. But there’s another kind of travel insurance out there: a service fee to an agent who can providing money-saving advice in advance and travel assistance during travel.

Here are three cases-in-point from last week’s news.

First, travel agents have access to sales offices and special phone numbers. Early on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, American Airlines canceled its only nonstop flight from San Francisco to St. Louis.

Its computer automatically rebooked people on a few different flights, mostly on Wednesday. My clients were among those put on the Wednesday nonstop, although they had a lunch event Wednesday in St. Louis. The original response from American – “That’s all we can do.”

But a little research and a few phone calls later, a reservation agent agreed to transfer them to a later United connection where I had found a few seats. A win-win, as the Wednesday flight was, as she admitted, now ridiculously overbooked.

Second, agents know that price is more than what shows up on the screen.

This week, a group of kids and parents needed to get to a football tournament in Florida. The first step was suggesting Tampa instead of Orlando, because the fares were over $250 less a person, and it’s only a 90 minute drive.

But then there was the Southwest difference. With infrequent flyers, almost all carriers charge for luggage, except Southwest. Even more important, some kids and parents might fly home early if they lose. Again, most carriers charge a penalty plus a fare difference to change tickets, except Southwest. Changes with Southwest can result in a higher fare, but the extra charge is only the fare difference.

Southwest also allows credit to be transferred into someone else’s name. In this case, with several changes before the team has even left, the savings are and will be substantial. Southwest does still have cattle car seating and flights that can have a few stops, but if money and flexibility matter, the inconveniences can seem pretty minor.

Third, with a major situation, agents often have advance notice and the knowledge to avoid some real problems.

A business client was scheduled to fly home from Cambodia via Bangkok on Wednesday. When the first reports came in of trouble at Bangkok’s airport, I held a reservation on a nearly sold-out flight from Cambodia to Singapore and called United to ask about a routing change, which they authorized.

The client at first thought he would take the chance via Bangkok but was finally convinced. Good thing too, or he would still be in Asia.

None of these cases are rocket science, but all of them were instances where travelers who had booked on the airline sites or even an online agency could have been out of luck. As good as technology is getting, it’s still no substitute for human decision making and persuasion.

Despite all the horror stories, most flights do operate, relatively ontime, and most trips are not changed. Some travelers think it’s a waste of time and money to pay an agent for a “simple airline ticket.” But that fee could also turn out to be the most valuable travel insurance you ever buy.

Tagged as: Bangkok airport, Bangkok Airport closure, holiday travel, service fees, Southwest Airlines, travel agents, travel insurance