Corporate Travel Agents - Do they provide value?

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by Saintsman

I've also found that it was better to find the most convenient flight to suit one's schedule and then tell them to book specific flights otherwise most of their options would be inappropriate.

This is true of much travel arranging, flights in particular, but also to prevent hotels at the wrong end of the city, and such like.

If you travel from Europe to the US you will find a number of bogus "through flights" offered, for example Delta DL15 from Frankfurt to Orlando, which is nothing more than a connection through Atlanta but both legs are given the same number, despite being on different aircraft types and, if the inbound is late at Atlanta, the onward being sent off on time just like any other missed connection. Why do carriers do this nonsense ? Well, research showed them that many agency staff never look beyond the first page in the GDS, and if they use the same number it gets collated by the system right on page one, above any connections, right up there with the Lufthansa nonstop flight.