Alpha Flight Guru - any experience

[Heathrow Harry]

California based outfit who claim to offer cheap flights by using Freq. Flyer seats


Sounds far too good to be true but some positive messages on the web

[PAXboy]

Never heard of them. Their website shows them to be just a travel agent who is using 21st century methods.

They specialise in air tickets and use many different sources (such as consolicators / bucket shops) and mileage deals (not exactly the same as FF seats) and using a short leg, then a long leg to get a cheaper deal and they list these.

In other words, they do what a good travel agent used to do (and still do) and what you can do online but they have used a lot of marketing jargon. A LOT of jargon/bull$hit. :hmm:

They use the word 'guru' way too many times and talk of technology (unspecified) and - whilst they do refer to their staff, they list them last. Since a 'guru' is meant to be human, one can see the marketing hype clearly displayed.

If this was a public holiday and I'd just got back from picking someone up from LHR T5 and had a fresh mug of tea, I'd have the time to be pernickerty with them. Oh; it is; I did; I have ... ;)

They state:
The first and most important reason we always get the best deals is because we are people who know people. Having the inside track with airlines has its advantages. Sometimes these advantages will save you thousands of dollars.
I'm not sure that is a claim they can make. The phrase, 'we are people who know people' implies that they have some kind of inside contact with airlines that others do not have. Airlines do not do deals like this any more - if they do, they will be in big trouble with any other agent who has not had favourable treatment. In the old days, an agent could do deals under the table (and some still do of course) but 1st world airlines do so at their peril. Let's not start on the marketing use of 'sometimes'. :suspect:

This agent may very well have good contacts and good contracts with airlines on account of being long standing agents and providing a lot of business - but not for any other reason. So I consider this to be another bit of marketing junk to be ignored and, as will be apparent, a considerable demerit.

Overall, they are doing what any company does - promote themselves in whatever way they can. If they operated in this country, I would not use them, as I'm waaaay too picky about the carriers and routes that I use. Not to mention that when i do use an agent - I use one that does not spread marketing all over the place. One would imagine that they find out whether you accept split sectors and dog legs to keep the price down and so on. So, just another company.

[mixture]

Heathrow Harry,

I concur with PAXboy and I too call bull !

Looking at their how it works page, it basically describes a travel agency process (a) fill out form or call, (b) they'll call you and offer you a quote.

Most of the things they mention are not secret and are far from being "not available to the public" (as they claim)... multi-airline travel, companion flights, mileage deals, last minute deals, long leg - short leg etc. can all be done direct by the general public.

There are also some very questionable reviews of them out there, such as this one from Fodors (http://www.fodors.com/community/air-travel/alpha-flight-guru-unreliable-stressful-service.cfm) ....
On the morning we were due to fly (in the car on the way to the airport), I received a call from an AFG representative. They apologized that our tickets had been cancelled due to “over-booking”

There is also another claim being made on the "RipoffReport" website here (http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Wholesale-Flights-Igor-Fishbeyn/Burlingame-California-94010/Wholesale-Flights-Igor-Fishbeyn-SCAM-AND-FRAUD-Former-Employee-of-Wholesale-Flights-Te-657523):
They use their web sites www.wholesale-flights.com and www.alphaflightguru.com to make customers call them and while customer on the phone with sales agent they make bogus/illegal reservation in online booking system in order to grab all seats on certain dates and make them unavailable for others and maximize the profit

Obviously you'll have to make your mind up in relation to the claims, I've never dealt with the companies, I'm just passing on what I've found via Google.

As PAXboy says, in highly competitive industries such as the airline industry, the days of "doing deals" are long gone....in todays age of social media etc it would be neigh on impossible to keep them secret.

To be perfectly honest, as far as I'm concerned there's only one tool out there. Its called ITA Matrix, now owned by Google but thankfully they are still offering the independent more powerful search interface that doesn't require you to submit yourself to any Google stupidities such as requiring a Google account or whatever.

Take the time to learn it (for much time you will need !) and you will be rewarded with good deals on flights.

[Heathrow Harry]

Thanks guys - a friend of ours was thinking of booking a really important flight with them and was not convinced when I said that it sounded very dodgy to me

Odd that the last note on TripAdvisor is 2-3 years ag0o - and that wasn't at all positive - lots of last minute cancellations and changes apparently

[PAXboy]

As it's a quiet weekend, I read the feedback comments highlighted by mixture.


GHASTLY! :sad:
Worst nightmare :eek:
Shocking behaviour by agent working 'on your behalf' :suspect:
etc.

Take your pick. For me, it's either an agent I trust or me. It's true that the options nowadays are myriad but there are sites to help you narrow down the field. it takes TIME and that is one of the main reasons why agents are not the force they once were.