Just what does a travel agent due to earn a $150 fee per ticket on a one leg flight to SA? Pro's and con's plese.

i have no idea, as i haven't used one in 10 safaris plus numerous other trips abroad(Australia, New Caledonia, Costa Rica, etc). about half the trips( all to Africa plus New Cal)) were booked using freq. flier miles, the rest paid for- all booked direct with the airlines. your mileage may vary...

One, you get access to their knowledge and information on regulations, restrictions, forms that are required, etc. Two, run into a problem with your travel arrangements half way around the world and you will be darn thankful you have a good travel agent to call. For $75-150, on a ticket that is $1500-2500 it is a bargain for the reasons noted above, IMO.

does the word "Concierge" ring a bell?

They book dozens of flights a month, or more, and the Airlines are not near as likely to screw with them as they are "Mr Every Two Years".

Leaving for Zim this afternoon to hunt Jumbo with Nixon. Booked with Kathi at Wild Travel. She called yesterday to ask if I had any questions. She told me if I had any problems to call her 24 hours a day. Said she sleeps with her phone under the pillow. Her $100 fee was money well spent.

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleDon:
Leaving for Zim this afternoon to hunt Jumbo with Nixon.

Good hunting mate.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
One, you get access to their knowledge and information on regulations, restrictions, forms that are required, etc. Two, run into a problem with your travel arrangements half way around the world and you will be darn thankful you have a good travel agent to call. For $75-150, on a ticket that is $1500-2500 it is a bargain for the reasons noted above, IMO.

+1

I've been on the ground, in Cameroon, when travel plans went sideways. A sat phone and an agent on US soil saved our bacon.

I've been in Joberg when the agent told us our seats were cancelled due to the way that Delta checked us into their system in ATL and that there was no room on any flight for two days. A call to a sleeping agent in the USA and we got on the plane.

Finally, there are the verious other services that they coordinate such as: gun permits, hotels, B&Bs, visas, etc.

Good luck getting that Travelocity Gnome to help you if the S hits the F.

My $.02.

Flying a one leg flight from Atlanta to Joberg on FF miles on Delta? Not too much.

But when you start transferring to other flights in Africa on SAA, Air Bots, or other foreign domestic carriers, their knowledge of changing rules, how to deal with these airlines, etc, can make or break a trip.

I think it really depends on how comfortable you are navigating issues on your own. I didn't use a travel agent on my last trip to Zim and saved about $650 (in my experience, it's usually less than that). I've also done my own gun permits, visas, etc., but I'm a control freak (until I get on the plane).

It's not rocket science, but I totally understand someone not wanting to deal with it .... However, if the S hits the F, and you completely relied on someone else to make all arrangements, you'll have less knowledge on how to handle trouble yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
One, you get access to their knowledge and information on regulations, restrictions, forms that are required, etc. Two, run into a problem with your travel arrangements half way around the world and you will be darn thankful you have a good travel agent to call. For $75-150, on a ticket that is $1500-2500 it is a bargain for the reasons noted above, IMO.

I have never used one either, but will for my next trip as I am transiting thru JNB, then switching airlines (2 separate tickets). I asked Steve Turner what happens if my guns don't show up in JNB (a carrier only has to send them to your ticketed destination) and he said he would have sent on on SAA.

My last four hunts have been to Tanz, so it has been a while since I transited JNB. Back then I just found the red line, declared my guns, and caught the Holiday Inn shuttle.

what do they do? in general they save your azz if things go wrong

Please let us know which travel agent charged you $650.00. I/we would all like to know I am sure so this one can be avoided. Thanks.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by tygersman:
I think it really depends on how comfortable you are navigating issues on your own. I didn't use a travel agent on my last trip to Zim and saved about $650 (in my experience, it's usually less than that). I've also done my own gun permits, visas, etc., but I'm a control freak (until I get on the plane).

It's not rocket science, but I totally understand someone not wanting to deal with it .... However, if the S hits the F, and you completely relied on someone else to make all arrangements, you'll have less knowledge on how to handle trouble yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
Please let us know which travel agent charged you $650.00. I/we would all like to know I am sure so this one can be avoided. Thanks.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

They didn't charge me b/c I didn't use one. I got almost identical quotes from two different, well regarded travel agents (used by many others on this board) - one was very apologetic and said the cost was unusually high .... So, after a bunch of research, I booked my trip on an internet travel site and saved the money. On other trips I've looked and the difference was very slight, so this is probably the exception and not the rule ....

I have used Shawn at Gracy Travel for both of my trips. They did the gun permits, meet and greet at the airport, etc. I thought it was more than worth it.

I did not recieve my luggage or guns on my first safari and called Shawn for contact info and what I should do. They responded immediately and helped with the situation where the people at the airport could careless if I had my bags or not.

As a first timer, I called Travel With Guns over 2 weeks ago inquiring about flights, general travel, etc for me and my buddy. They took my info and said they'd call me back. I never got a phone call back from them at all. We booked the Delta flights ourselves. Piss poor effort by TWG's.

I have never used Steve's services, but understand that evey now & then the ball does get dropped. He has a very good reputation & if I were not happy with my present agent (Shawn at Gracy) I would seriously consider him.
We had problems on our 1st safari & our local travel agent hung us out to dry in Namibia, Gracy resolved the issue for us & we were not even their clients.
Money well spent for the peace of mind it gives.

A good travel agent familiar with hunting, travel with firearms,etc. is invaluable and will greatly simplify your life. The travel agent in the local strip mall -- not so much.

Contact Steve Turner, Gracy, Kathi Klimes or others on this forum who provide this service. I've been working with Steve for the past few years and can't say enough good things about him and his operation (not to knock anyone else).

When you need firearms permits to transit Amsterdam, or need to deal with a recent change in the airline rules, which they seem to change every few months, a good agent will know that.

When you have a problem in the airport in Joberg or Dar -- they can help you. Back in 2007, I used Gracy and had a hell of a snafu at Tambo trying to connect to Windhoek. Their guy on the ground sorted it all out an I made my connection -- barely, but it would have been impossible without him.

A good agent earns their money and its money well-spent from my perspective.

Guys,

It's the show season. All these folks are traveling and on the road. You need to 1) have a little patience; 2) if you've waited til the last minute and can't have patience, call back. And, just a bit of advice, these folks are a hell of a lot more responsive than anyone in Africa, so if you have problems with that, well... get used to Africa time -- you'll absolutely love it.

i am lucky. i haven't traveled with a gun in 7-8 years and i am a member of Am Airlines Million Miler Club( twice over)- so AA and their partners( mainly BA) are very accommodating. no need for a travel agent. 1 phone call to AA and generally that's the end of it. it is amazing how much simpler travel becomes when firearms import permits, transit permits, clearance fees, airline pre- notification,etc go away.

I can makle one phone call to a good Travel Agent. Tell them when I want to leave, where I want to go, and when I want to get home.

Also I can give them the dates and times for those trips that I have different destinations, for different lengths of time.

They do the research on the flights, call me back with the exact options I have and then it is done...

Well worth the money IMHO.

The night before I was to fly out I checked my flights - everything was fine. I woke up the day of my flight to find that my Africa flight was delayed 10 hours due to a fuel leak. This would have caused me to miss the only flight a day into Beira, Mozambique and ultimately a day of hunting. Called me travel agent, she rerouted my flights at SAA's expense and I left a few hours earlier on Lufthansa to Frankfurt then on to Jo'berg and my final destination of Beira. Glad I had here there to sort this out!

I book everything myself but I also fly 100k+ miles per year. I still used Steve's service to help with gun permits and such. I think they charged $50 total and that was very worth it. Two thumbs up.

Like bhtkevin, I fly 100k plus per year, much of it international. I use Amex travel services for business travel for the convenience but book my personal travel myself - except when traveling to hunt destinations with firearms. I just booked tickets to JNB on Emirates thru Steve Turner today - I like the extra comfort of having Steve assist with the gun permit notification to Emirates and to be there if anything comes up.. Well worth $150.00 per ticket....

Scott, exactly. Steve and Susan have been bird dogging Emirates to get my firearms permit which arrived today. Having them work the issue with their contacts is well worth $150.00.

Mike - hearing that makes me feel good :-)

I have always flown Delta or SAA - I'm looking forward to the change. The feedback I have read here on AR rates Emirates very high..

Does Emirates have something similar to economy comfort like Delta?

Not to my knowledge, I think they have first class, business class and economy.

I note that the OP has bought his ticket. I'm sure all will go smoothly, but I can tell him that if it doesn't, it's very likely that he'll damn sure wish he'd paid a knowledgeable travel agent his commission.

People buy trip insurance all the time for such trips, at what I consider to be outrageously high costs. I consider an TA's commission to be both time saving (and quite often money saving above commission costs) on my part, and very cheap insurance when the shit hits the fan in some corner of Africa. It's damn nice to know someone who can make the right calls to the right people when you're stuck somewhere or other problems arise due to unpredictable circumstances.

I'm about as cheap as they come, and, IMO, a TA, in most cases, is money very well spent.

I've done it both ways....on my own and with help and considerable consultation with agents.For a hunt with rifles as luggage I find the agents invaluable.Helpful re immunization info and non-hunting side trips.Gracy,Travel with Guns,and Esplanade have all served me well.Well worth the fee which is a pittance compared with total cost.I still research the flights,medical info etc.but have been afforded rates by the agents that I could not arrange e.g. Vic Falls Hotel. Either way,it's great. Jim

If you fly through Amsterdam, as you likely will if you are going to Tanzania, you'll need a Dutch firearms permit. They won't issue it until last minute, no matter when you apply. Steve has always helped me breathe easier as he knows who to call when it gets close and I start worrying.

You don't need a safari travel agent, UNLESS your rifles don't show up in Africa or are lost to your next stop or on the way back are missing in JoBerg or in my case were shipped to USA and were detained by parties unknown out side the airline structure, etc., etc.

Do what floats your boat!

Dak

Steve Turner charged us 75 dollars each to book our flights and handled a SAA screw up for us on a weekend after hours. Money well spent and we have done this nine times.