Cheap Asia Flights
Part Two

"Where to buy tickets"

Should I buy my ticket online or at a travel agency?

There are pros and cons on both sides...

In my experience...

online travel agencies offer cheaper tickets than the ordinary travel agencies.
And if you`re in a hurry, booking a ticket online goes fast. You receive an e-ticket after a day or two.

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But if you want to book a flight early, you should do this at a travel agency.

If you decide to buy tickets from a travel agency, you usually pay 1-2 months before departure.
The downside with online booking is that you usually have to pay the minute you carry through the booking. Many things can happen before your departure, and cancelling a paid flight ticket without a good reason, will cost you loads of money. And that`s unnecessary!
Some backpackers prefer travel agencies, so they can have that
personal contact with a human being, instead of a computer.
Like, if you have questions regarding your trip or flight, you can ask the staff. They are usually experts on travelling, and might give you some valuable information.

Conclusions:

If it`s a last-minute booking, you should consider buying online.

If you're booking online like 6 months before, you have to be sure that you have a cancellation insurance which will cover the flight costs in case of emergency.

Sometimes a travel agency has better deals than the online travel companies (especially for students). Try it out before going online.

If you`re interested in buying your ticket at a travel agency, here`s a tip from mom:

Look up small (and reputable) travel agencies.

If you buy your ticket at a large travel company, you`ll likely get charged too much for the ticket.

Why you say?

Travel agencies sell tickets on behalf of the airlines. And the last couple of years, some airlines have stopped paying commissions to travel agencies.

Large travel agencies have of course big expenses (office rental, employees` payment, office equipment etc.)

So, they have to charge a big enough commission per sale, to cover their expenses. This commission is usually in the form of a booking or a service fee. It`s then logical that their income must come from these commissions…

But smaller travel agencies usually don`t have big expenses. So they will likely charge a small commission.

Like my mom, she runs her business solo (with the help of dad). And she only has a small office in downtown Oslo. The only expense my mom has, is the office rental. So she only takes a small commission. And that`s one of the reasons she is successful. Her regular customers appreciate that she sells cheap tickets.

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