Why book though an agency with no hope of a refund or any easy means of communication?
I book direct only and far less to no issues and speak to humans.

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warwickl said..
Why book though an agency with no hope of a refund or any easy means of communication?
I book direct only and far less to no issues and speak to humans.

You might be surprised at what you get from booking with a reputable agent. My wife works for Flight Centre and spends much of her time now taking calls from people who did book direct during this pandemic and have no recourse and nobody to talk to about their losses.
We have friends who decided to plan a trip of a lifetime to Africa. They did their planning and booked everything themselves. It wasn't until they discovered that they would most likely lose most of their money and not have their trip that they planned to contact their friend and travel agent who was unfortunately unable to help.
You can win or lose both ways, but during these uncertain times for travel - I'd like the experience of a local (not online) travel provider. They have rules in place to protect the customer and have all of the correct and up to date information on what you can and can't do.

And where the **** exactly are you planning on going given the current status quo?

In the past I would get all my quotes from going direct, have my dates, flight times, etc all planned out, then walk into flight centre and just ask them to beat it, generally they could by a further 10-20%, if not I just book direct. Additionally, when things don't go to plan while overseas, especially on business trips and you are pressed for time, it can be easier to call someone in Aus to rearrange all your flights, accommodation, buses, etc as opposed to rescheduling everything yourself, especially when you are time poor or might have poor internet reception.

So cheaper and better service.

For a long time I booked my annual trip to India through an agent. I was saving $300-400 on fares and travel insurance. The agent was a specialist in adventure trips and knew all the insurance and baggage requirements and was able to get everything lined up with no effort on my part.

Increased security meant I had to pay for some flights with my own credit card, and the discounts got smaller until they were non-existent. The insurance needs became a little more complicated but easier to sort out for myself. Eventually it was cheaper to do all the bookings myself.

Wow, some good useful replies, thanks

PS I had one airline shut down mid-trip. They were for internal India travel. I ended up with a couple of 12 hour India taxi rides, which is an adventure in itself.

The insurance doesn't cover the airline closing down and the amount of money was trivial.

I am a bit bemused by all the fuss about cancellations and refunds and all that. I don't really care about the cost of the trip or a some gear or luggage. Where it's really important is when you're lying in some excuse for a hospital and screaming for doctors and evacuation flights to get you to somewhere safe. Make sure you take all the cover you can get for that.

Flight Centre were awesome in getting in sorting my flight cancellations to Europe last year . Decided to book a trip to Hammo about 4 weeks ago and now this **** happens . My timing has been ****e since late 2019.

In terms of insurance , this is the topic no one is really talking about . Insurance companies were aholes pre COVID . Imagine now . Prenexisting
conditons that use to be covered for $O may now not be covered or cost a truck load