Online Travel Agent

[Dave 21]

Have any of you regular travellers ever booked your flights through Ebookers.com.( ie are they any bloody good ) ::) :).

 

Here's looking forward to all your comments.

 

Dave

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Dave,

 

They are as good as any until things go wrong.  Their call centre is in Delhi which presents a few challenges if your tickets haven't arrived the day before you're due to travel.

 

Tom

[daviduk21 0]

I've used them twice and they were fine.  They have a very good LHR - BKK deal on at the moment.  Direct return flights with Thai Airways, on dates in Sept, Oct and Nov for 412GBP inclusive of all taxes.

[Crackpot 2]

Dave. They are a reputable company with an ATOL Licence and Bond (Worth FAR more than the silly ABTA thing) If you cant find the dates you want using their ONline system then call them.  Once you have paid for your tickets they usually send them out within 2 days

 

By the way Alter Ego, their call center is in London, and is quite big, though I do know they have a lot of Indians etc working for them.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

ebookers currently employs over 600 staff at its Delhi call-centre.  From its website, the words of its boss:

 

Key to this was the opening in 2002 of state of the art Business Process Outsourcing centre in India with staff of 350 and capacity for up to 750. The facility means that ebookers can employ highly skilled graduates on competitive local salaries at a fraction of the cost of doing the same in Europe. No other European online travel company owns such an asset.

 

Last month it trebled its available space there and is currently going through redundancies at Travelbag which it bought about six months ago.

 

Why are all of the major tour operators (including ebookers) members of ABTA if it is such a silly thing;  apart from anything else it has a Code of Practice by which its members abide - or is it your roundabout way of telling us that your company is not a member of ABTA? :'(

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[snips_whispers 0]

that same offer with thai is available at most of the online operators, at the same price, or as near as dammit.

[rcj1959 0]

I had one huge problem dealing with Ebookers in March 2002. I booked online for a friend and quoted the guys credit card details and all relevant details. To cut the story short, Ebookers goofed big time. Mr Brian Hinton became Mr Hilton Brain on his flight tickets and he was booked on the EVA and BA flight out of LHR flying out on the same night. Trying to deal with a Indian with a limited command of the English language was bloody difficult especially when trying to iron out problems caused by them. Be very careful and check your credit card statement as soon as you can.

[Crackpot 2]

Alterego

Ebookers main online call center is in London. Ive been there and seen it on several occasions. It employs about 200 or so people there. I havent had any dealings with their overseas call center as I call them direct on a private number, but I do know they have had many problems with non-fluent English speakers, and have cut back drastically on their NON UK employees. I also know that all calls will be routed through their London office first and only when those lines are overloaded will they be diverted elsewhere.

Anyone booking via telephone with Ebookers can ask for a direct phone number to the person doing the reservation.

.

 

ABTA is a trade organisation created to protect its own members. I know many people who, back in the mad 70's and 80's lost lots of money by booking with a so-called ABTA Agent.

Because of the publics perception of ABTA many Tour Operators get membership, but it is the ATOL that would protect the customers, not ABTA.

I am not, have not, and will never apply for or attempt to obtain an ABTA membership.

ATOL licensing is setup by the government Via the CAA where all licencees are bonded dependant on their ticket levels.

I will be obtaining my own ATOL when my present contract expires, as I have stated many times.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

The Delhi call centre has over 600 staff compared to 200 in London.  The Indian operation is being expanded to cater for 2000+ employees.  That makes Delhi the main call centre in my eyes.

 

ABTA gives protection for all those add-ons that we may take for granted on a holiday - transfers, hotels, golf etc.  It would seem prudent to use a company with that additional protection when booking a holiday where these arrangements are part of the package, or not?

 

Tom

[valentinoxxx 4]

Each time I have called Ebookers, I have been routed through to India. With the result that some 'complicated' queries may not get answered.

Calling at nighttime should ensure you get put through to the Delhi centre.  

 

I was so p***ed off, I booked with someone else. Saved money too.

[Crackpot 2]

Alter ego.

I would seriously question those figures of Non UK employees what with the downturn in Air Ticket sales . Though it makes good publicity for the masses I doubt the authenticity of the figures.

 

As for ABTA in relation to Thailand, I know very few people who buy packages to Thailand other than families. For the average bloke buying an air ticket and then picking up his own accomodation ABTA would have no relevance as the air ticket would be covered by an ATOL, either from the travel company providing the ticket or the consolidator supplying the ticket to them.

 

However, I agree that if buying a complete package then using an agent within ABTA would be of use though probably far more expensive than a non ABTA agent.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

The figures are from the company's published accounts for the quarter up to 30 June 2003 so I have no reason to doubt the authenticity.  ebookers gross sales increased by 67% during the same period reflecting its purchase of Travelbag and Bridge The World at the beginning of the year.  It makes complete sense that the back office functions will be integrated and that function will need to expand - bad news for the UK employees unfortunately and reflected in the current round of redundancies at Travelbag.

 

As you are aware the extent of ATOL coverage is determined by the point at which the actual ticket is issued.  Many "specials" require immediate payment and ticketing in which case ATOL coverage does not apply from the point at which the ticket is issued - at least that's my understanding and I am happy to be corrected if it is wrong.  I agree that ABTA coverage is more relevant when booking a package or a flight plus hotel (as I do if I am staying in Bangkok or up-country) but I am not aware that non-ABTA agents are more expensive than ABTA registered agents.  Most, if not all, of the main online agents are ABTA registered so the point is probably mute.

 

Anyway, let me know what price you will be able to do Qatar business and economy from MAN in March and if it is competitive I'll gladly put some business your way.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[orientaltaffy 0]

I have tried E bookers and just about everyone else for a flight in November without any luck as none could match my usual agent for the price and dates that I needed so I finally booked with them again for LHR / BKK for £479 with Thai (sat8th - sat22nd), exactly the same price as my last trip in July, my other 2 mates also tried but could not beat this price for a direct flight and found indirect for almost the same money as direct . We booked again with THG in Swansea who would also have given us 2 free hotel nights in either BKK or PTY but as this would have been either sharing or paying the single supplement of £50 we declined and decided to get our own accommodation as usual.

          There is a leaflet produced by the CAA that tells all about ATOL and is very informative, it's yellow in colour and I believe freely available, it's document number is caa384sept2000 .

[Crackpot 2]

Hi Taffy

 

The Thai price was , as usual, only for certain flights on certain days, so it wasnt suitable for everyone.

 

I did see on teletext that some agencies were charging £475 for the very same flights and throwing in a couple of nights Hotel accomodation, which might suit some.

 

I still get very annoyed at UK companies who charge single supplements for Hotels in Thailand when they dont get charged that same supplement

[RICHERTS 0]

I am booked with Ebookers. Only problem I have experienced  has been when ytrying to change my return flight. Person I was dealing with by email (could never contact her by phone) told me flights were full. Eva said thay had availability. When I spoke to another person on the phone they said fl;ight was available when they then checked further told me  I could not change my ticket. Seems to me that they have problems interpreting the rules.

I will try and change my ticket when I arrive in BKK.

 

Richerts

[valentinoxxx 4]

Here are their contact details:

EVA AIR

Bangkok/Thailand  

Reservation TEL: 66-2-2400890

Office TEL/FAX/ADRS

TEL: 66-2-2400890

FAX: 66-2-2400887

ADRS: Green Tower, 2nd Floor, 3656 / 4-5 Rama IV Road, Klongtoey Klongton Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Airport TEL: 66-2-5353531

 

May be best to go direct to their offices.

[orientaltaffy 0]

Hi Crackpot,

               I could only go on those dates so had to pay the price as for supplements three trips ago it was only £15 but now they want £50 extra, that's 5 nights in a cheapie hotel so they can keep it.

[Crackpot 2]

Hi Taff

 

Yeah I know the contricks some agents use to kick up their commision rate, and its criminal. Fortunately as you know you dont have to book with those agents, there are some decent agents here in the UK who wont charge you Single Supplements. Or even just go and book at the desk.

 

Enjoy yourself  ;D ;D ;D

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Crackpot,

 

C'mon ..... spill the beans!  What agents don't charge single supplements?

 

Regards,

 

Tom

[Crackpot 2]

Well I am informed that Gazelle Travel in Newcastle didnt charge.

 

Or one could contact someone like Diethelm Travel via the web. Last time I looked, their double rooms were carrying no single supplements.

You pay for a double room you get a double room, no supplement for single occupation

[valentinoxxx 4]

Diethelm Travel charge you the full whack(double room price) for a single person, so there is no need to charge single supplements.

Their prices are nothing to write home about.

 

http://www.r24.org/  is a better bet.

[Crackpot 2]

YAAAAWN !

[valentinoxxx 4]

Oh! I'm sorry.. I forgot that you are the new 'specialist' on travel on this board.

How dare I add anything to your definitive replies?

 

::)

[Crackpot 2]

Sorry, what was it you said you did for a living ?

 

What was that Birthdate again, I think I missed it ?

[growler 0]

Oh Oh. Seconds out. ::)