- P.N.J. Kumar/Chief Executive Officer/Caesars Travel Group-
It is very common these days that a lot of people are duped by travel agencies both conventional and web-based as many of them are stuck at airports without having confirmed tickets and losing their money. The interesting part of this game is that while the passenger purchases the tickets, these agents always give those confirmed tickets and they are convinced all is fine. The scene changes just hours before the travel or sometimes on reaching the airport to check-in when they discover that neither do they have a confirmed ticket nor a seat on the airplane. Upon checking closely about such reported incidents, it has been noticed that the major culprits are online travel agents, working with a virtual set-up. Like the numerous online cheating scams the passengers has no clue whom to approach as these agents appear only through web sites, without having any other contacts.
Recently in Kuwait, it has been noticed that thousands of passengers were stuck at the airport without seats even though they had confirmed tickets which was issued online. Unfortunately when they reached the airport to travel they did not even have a booking at the check-in counter of airports. First of all, we have to understand on how these web-based travel agents operate by offering unbelievably cheap tickets to passengers. All airlines fix the fares on which they can operate keeping into account their operation costs and other overheads and even if they offer cheaper fares they cannot go below these. The Airline may be able to manage with a dip in fares only with a margin of maybe 10-20% but no 50% or above. Therefore, if anyone offers you tickets with such heavy discounts then we have to seriously think about it and realize that there is something wrong in these sales strategy followed by these agencies. They must be targeting the instant money which they should be getting from these transactions from passengers and nowhere, they are bothered about your travel once the transaction is completed and get the money from your pockets. In the recent incident the online travel agents booked and issued confirmed tickets to the passengers many months ahead of their travel and as soon as the amount was paid and received into the agents accounts the tickets booking were cancelled and collected the money from the airline as refunds. The passenger was given confirmation until the tickets were issued and as soon as the amount was deducted from his account the process of cheating had started. These gullible people were stranded in the airport and even the airlines were not able to help as there was records of the tickets being refunded to them.
Here are few tips to help you begin your quest to find the reliable travel agent to suit your needs and avoid the probable complications during your travel.
This is the time that we have to seriously think before planning to visit your local travel agent or book with through an online travel agent, it is important to make sure the agency you use is legitimate. All of you are well aware of the electronic abuses happening in all fields, it is always advisable that we have to take the precautions before entering into any such commercial dealings. l have to admit that finding a good travel agent might not be as important today as it was in the past, you have plenty of options in front of you, conventional type travel agents and online travel companies but how to choose the right agent, that should be your question at this point in time? The initial step that you have to do is to find out an agent with lots of experience and knowledge working with a travel office—one with personal experience about the industry and who can guide you based on your travel plans. Here, you have to keep in mind that running behind cheap tickets may put you always in trouble but approaching an agent with the above technical knowhow will always guide you to the right direction of your travel. In brief, please try to understand that even in this era of information overload, there are times when a travel agent is almost a necessity, especially with a conventional agent whom you can personally approach.
Another important step that you have to keep in mind is that make sure the company you are booking with is licensed before you make any payment whether it is an agent with a physical office or online. This is a guarantee that passengers are protected by adequate bonding. All travel agents trading in the State of Kuwait are required by law through Directorate General of Civil Aviation to be licensed and bonded to buy or sell trips overseas. Therefore, having a legitimate license will help you to approach them in case of any difficulties when you are traveling, as always there is an office or contact details that will help you to easily approach them. Always a trusted travel agent will follow the itinerary of passengers from the beginning to end, to make sure that there should not be any inconveniences to their passengers during their travel and in case of any difficulties faced by the passengers, they will be taking care of them which unfortunately, are not followed by many of the agents during these days.
Your next concern should be the cheapest offers from the online or conventional travel agencies which you should always keep in mind that there should be a catch behind it. None of the commercial travel agencies are working for the welfare of passengers, other than their own benefits. These sorts of agencies often offer incredible deals and discounts; it is worth looking at finer details when you see prices well below the norm. Therefore, it is always advisable to think twice before buying tickets from such agencies offering cheap tickets.
Evaluating the standard of travel agent is another step which you have to keep in mind before approaching anyone. This will provide a first-hand evaluation which is the single best way to get a feel about any travel provider. Here, you can find someone you know who recommend a travel agent or online travel company or perhaps they have used the travel agency you are considering. This may avoid many of your suspicions before approaching an agency as you have already got information from your friend and you can be confident in approaching them.
The final stage is to make sure you have got the right paperwork from the agency you bought the tickets. When you have booked and paid for your tickets with an agency, you should receive a confirmation document immediately along with a receipt for the money you paid which is mandatory as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation rule in Kuwait. Always make sure that the telephone number or email address mentioned in the ticket is your own and not that of any staff in the travel agency or the online company because if any future changes are to be made to your ticket the airline will contact you on that number or address given by you. There is no harm in double checking these documents given by the agency whether it is legitimate or not, check once again the company names on the paperwork match with the agency name wherefrom you bought the ticket. It is also suggested to check with the airline closer the date of your travel whether your seats are confirmed or not, this will give you more confidence when reaching the airport.
Travel agents can serve as advisers, planners, and negotiators on whatever levels they are operating. Moreover, the travel business is all about experiences and relationships. The key factor before you plan to buy your ticket is finding someone truly dependent and unbiased in what they sell — someone who will be looking out for your best interest rather than looking for the cheap tickets offer by few online or conventional travel agents which always can put you in trouble in some way or other. Therefore, why don’t you decide about giving it in the right hands and make your journey safe and memorable.
Happy and safe travel!!!
