The other advantage would be if you are buying your trip insurance through ABD. They will sometimes cover your airfare even if you don't book it through them, but you have to be flying directly to the location where the ABD begins, and flying back from where the ABD ends. If you buy the airfare through them, it's automatically covered.
Sayhello
Thanks for the clarification. I haven't gotten ABD's insurance in a while, and when I did, it was for a trip that flew directly to the start of the trip, and left from the end of the trip. So good to know the distinction.Well, maybe not exactly. I booked my own flights for the Ireland ABD and I flew to Edinburgh and spent 5 days there before going to Dublin to join the ABD. Quoting myself from a previous post below where ABD told me what was covered. I can only say it's what I was told, because fortunately I didn't have to file a claim and will never know whether this information is accurate or not. But this was after several conversations with ABD and the rep I spoke to seemed to know what she was talking about.
"And here's the story from ABD on which flights are covered. If you have multiple flights under the same confirmation number they are covered. She also told me that the segment leaving the US is covered regardless of whether the final destination is the origin of the ABD. So in my case I am flying on Delta from Nashville to Edinburgh and from Shannon to Nashville and those flights are covered. I booked a separate flight with Aer Lingus (different confirmation number, obviously) from Edinburgh to Dublin (where the tour starts) and that isn't covered, which is okay with me because it was really cheap."
I HATE HATE HATE Delta!! I feel like I constantly have to watch my reservation because they rarely actually notify me when they change my flights, and it seems every time they do, my connections get worse and I lose my seat selections. I only fly Delta if there's absolutely no other reasonable alternative.Since first signing up to take our upcoming trip to Australia, (11 weeks and three days until departure and counting ) the airlines have made multiple changes to the already purchased flights, including a total cancellation of the final leg home.
An advantage to booking with ABD or using a travel agent is that they do a good job of rebooking and rearranging. I cannot imagine wrestling with this if I had booked on my own with points. American Airlines wanted to leave us in Dallas Texas with a 14 hour layover after we will will have been flying from Brisbane with a tight connection to Sydney and then on to Dallas Texas. No reason given by AA for cancelling our final leg home. ABD found several alternatives, and while none of them were great, they get me home within 3 hours of the original plan.
As an aside, the airlines charge pretty hefty fees for a customer to make a flight change, but suffer absolutely no consequences for their unilateral action to make such a change. I may be showing my age but long ago these were called "contracts for carriage" and could not be so easily changed. Not a fan of domestic airlines, and I won't fly Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive (DELTA) as it doesn't nor will I fly through Atlanta, even if it were free.
I have never had a Travel Agent charge me any kind of fee. It's the travel providers that pay the fees/commissions for the TA's.We are contemplating using a travel agent to book flights for our next trip but that's only if they can book us straight through to our final destination as it's a bit off the beaten track. If not, I'm not going to waste the money on agent's fees and I'll just book the 2 separate airlines myself.
That is interesting. But it doesn't explain AA actually changing the times, the flight numbers and the planes for both of my flight legs to/from Chicago for my China trip. Changed all that & didn't seem to notice that the seat I was assigned didn't exist on one of the new planes... Cathay Pacific hasn't changed a thing on me.United changed the time of one of our flights on the way home from Australia (we are on the 7/2 trip) which would have caused us to miss our connection. Called them and they changed the flight to what was a more expensive flight (obviously, no additional charge). Anyways, I asked why they changed the flight. Their answer was interesting. They said in most cases it is not the airline that changes the flight time, it is the airport. They said they basically lease space and take-off/landing slots from the airport. If another airline strikes an agreement they can lose that time slot and be re-assigned another. I'm sure this is an oversimplification and there is more negotiation that happens, but it was an assumption that I had made that it was always the airline when they may not have a choice in the matter.
That is interesting. But it doesn't explain AA actually changing the times, the flight numbers and the planes for both of my flight legs to/from Chicago for my China trip. Changed all that & didn't seem to notice that the seat I was assigned didn't exist on one of the new planes... Cathay Pacific hasn't changed a thing on me.
Sayhello
If not, I'm not going to waste the money on agent's fees and I'll just book the 2 separate airlines myself.
If your travel agent is charging you a fee...you should look at other agents.
There are no costs to our guests for using Dreams Unlimited Travel.
None.
Kevin@DreamsUnlimitedTravel.com
I'm not booking an ABD.
Yeah, I've had a TA charge me before. I quickly found a new one
I had a Virtuoso agent who had done several high end hotel bookings for suddenly want a $50.00 "booking fee" per reservation. She explained she never charged it before but her boss was pressuring her to start. I didn't give her the booking I was inquiring about and switched to another Virtuoso agent (who has no fees). My new agent gets quite a few nice bookings from me each year. I don't call and waste his time - I know exactly what I want - I use him to make the booking so I can get the free breakfast, amenity and early check-in!