My business travel is insufficient to warrant retaining a corporate travel agent, but the following story warned me off travel agencies in general
Early in March 2008, I was contemplating a trip from London to Columbus OH. I visited a certain travel agent in west London, told the employee there that I wanted to travel in business class, that my preferred airport of departure was Gatwick, and sat back to see what she would come up with.
She told me that "the best and preferred" routing was STN-JFK - in premium economy - a transfer to EWR and then on to CMH.
I gently reminded her of the parameters outlined above and asked her why I could not fly LGW/LHR-EWR direct thus eliminating a completely superfluous ground transfer. Again the agent told me that her routing was far better. I reiterated that I wanted to travel in business class; her riposte was that "premium economy was much better".
As reporters on the late (and unlamented) "News of the Screws" used to write, "I made my excuses and left". That particular west London travel agency was so greedy for commissions and kickbacks that it clearly had not the slightest regard for customers' requests or needs.
Travel agencies? Who needs them?
Last edited by Chuchinchow; 27th Jul 2011 at 05:35.