Traditional Travel Agent Services to challenge Online Airline Services
All of us who remember how we used to go to the Travel Agent of our
town to buy a ticket should also remember the blue Sabre or Amadeus
screen where the lady who worked there used to type in those complex
codes. Well whatever this lady could do on her screen we can now do it
from home. All, or almost all state owned (or ex state owned airlines –
including Cyprus Airways) have now a web site where the passenger
himself can make a booking, pay and even get his/her boarding pass.
So
why do we need travel agents? This question was made to me during our
event in Limassol last month. Travel agents who live on ticketing have
little future? Will they disappear? My opinion is that they will not
disappear, they will have to adapt.
I was in the office of my
travel agent in Nicosia the other day and what impressed me more were
the answers the ladies and gentlemen that work there could answer over
the phone in a very natural and sure manner. Questions that not even
Google can answer that quickly and that accurately.
They were
just brilliant, … no sir no worries your flight is confirmed and the
assistance for your mother is also confirmed. You will have someone to
pick her up in Rome to help her in the airport. His phone is ….
So
my advice is, if you are a travel agent, offer good personalised
service!! If you are a frequent or not so frequent flyer pay those 30
Euros service charge so you get tranquillity when you fly, every cent
is worth it. Now if you are an airline invest in your web since not all
of us have the luxury to book a flight on working hours.
In my
way of seeing things the challenge is for the Airlines, they need to
offer excellent web services to compete with the professionalism of the
travel agents and not vice versa.
Have a good flight