To travel agent or not travel agent
July 4, 2018 7:13 AM Subscribe
My SO and I are moving to Germany in October. Should we use a travel agent rather than trying to book flights ourselves? If a travel agent is the better way to go, anyone have recommendations in Alameda, CA or East Bay?
For the most part, the trip will be fairly straight forward. We're going to fly out of Las Vegas, and hopefully go as direct as possible to Munich. We're having a really hard time finding reasonably priced, one-way flights (but perfectly priced round-trip flights :P).
Some of the complications involved are mostly regarding excess luggage:
2-3 suitcases each
1 bicycle
1 27" iMac
I've read in some places that a travel agent could get better deals on one-way flights, and help to arrange all of the luggage issues. Is that the case?
Thanks!
For the most part, the trip will be fairly straight forward. We're going to fly out of Las Vegas, and hopefully go as direct as possible to Munich. We're having a really hard time finding reasonably priced, one-way flights (but perfectly priced round-trip flights :P).
Some of the complications involved are mostly regarding excess luggage:
2-3 suitcases each
1 bicycle
1 27" iMac
I've read in some places that a travel agent could get better deals on one-way flights, and help to arrange all of the luggage issues. Is that the case?
Thanks!
The travel agent industry is steadily shrinking except for cruises. Can't hurt to call, perhaps duck into one or two in an, ahem, ethnic part of town. One 'hack' a friend used for luggage was to upgrade to first class with extra miles points for a leg that allowed three luggage. Look at prices out of jfk and book separate legs if that works. Last summer fall a one way in another direction was exactly half of RT, that could happen again, but it is maddening, will rates change, but sometimes later in the summer the algorithms will change due to low season.
posted by sammyo at 7:34 AM on July 4, 2018
posted by sammyo at 7:34 AM on July 4, 2018
Also look at total size luggage, maxing out a couple boxes/duffels could consolidate three into two.
posted by sammyo at 7:36 AM on July 4, 2018
posted by sammyo at 7:36 AM on July 4, 2018
I used to work for an employer that used Beyond the Bay for all of our travel. The ladies there were very nice - I have no idea if they can help you with this, but it couldn’t hurt to give them a call!
posted by lunasol at 7:53 AM on July 4, 2018
posted by lunasol at 7:53 AM on July 4, 2018
I just flew with a friend moving to a different country. Whatever airline you pick, make sure you get their luggage policy in writing--we had an issue at check-in when the agent balked at one of the items we were trying to check and it was a huge hassle.
Also be sure to price out the size/weight of your luggage: for example, if you go with a huge duffle bag and have to pay the excess weight on it, would that end up being more or less than the cost of, say, a first class ticket with a more generous baggage allowance?
posted by TwoStride at 7:59 AM on July 4, 2018
Also be sure to price out the size/weight of your luggage: for example, if you go with a huge duffle bag and have to pay the excess weight on it, would that end up being more or less than the cost of, say, a first class ticket with a more generous baggage allowance?
posted by TwoStride at 7:59 AM on July 4, 2018
I brought a synthesizer from Berlin to the US with me in June that weighed 75 pounds and was oversized (38 inches long, 9 inches high and 22 inches deep.) and I only paid 50 dollars.
posted by nikaspark at 8:13 AM on July 4, 2018
posted by nikaspark at 8:13 AM on July 4, 2018
I flew United on an economy plus ticket, that gave me one free bag.
posted by nikaspark at 8:16 AM on July 4, 2018
posted by nikaspark at 8:16 AM on July 4, 2018
A travel agent can definitely work all the angles here and may well be worth the cost for you if your time is valuable. But this is absolutely a journey you can book on your own.
Some ideas:
- it's fine to just not turn up for that return flight IF you have booked a fare which doesn't charge you a no-show fee
- it's fine for your return to be a date you might have wanted to be in the US anyway, even if way in advance, like next summer; you can then use a one-way back to Europe (where you will presumably have a right to work/reside by then, so a one-way will be fine) with carry-ons only on, like, Norwegian/WOW/Icelandair or something cheaper later
- flying from Los Angeles gives you far more interesting options (like flying Ethiopian to Dublin and then flying from Dublin to Munich on Lufthansa) - the minimal cost of a one-way car rental straight to LAX for you and all your stuff might far outweigh the cost difference of flights
- could one of you fly in business class and thereby take more of the bags for less money?
- could you join the miles programme of whoever you fly (or one of their partners) and earn enough miles from this very long trip to earn elite status, and thus offset some of the costs?
- if you want to avoid changing planes/your computer getting lost at a transfer airport, could you go to LAX or SFO and catch the nonstop Lufthansa flight to Munich?
- if you must leave from Las Vegas, Condor offers cheap-ish one-ways to Frankfurt that then connect to one of the many Lufthansa flights to Munich daily; a LAS-FRA-MUC ticket on their site on October 16 in cheapest economy came to just $369, but they won't let you add an extra bag because you've got that Lufthansa connection attached (perhaps if you called?). For that little I bet you could ship everything over and just fly with a single carry-on and checked bag and come out ahead.
- do not book this as two separate tickets on two separate itineraries (one itinerary with two airlines linked as a single ticket is fine)
- buy travel insurance - and check that it includes some sort of coverage for electronics/bikes
- if you are really, really price sensitive there are some ridiculously low fares from Los Angeles to Munich on Norwegian connecting to Easyjet on worldwide.easyjet.com using Gatwick Connects, an initiative of London Gatwick airport that guarantees your connection and throws in a glass of wine and premium security at Gatwick. You go through immigration, collect your bags at baggage reclaim and then take them to the Gatwick Connects transfer desk in the reclaim area, and then go straight up to security, without needing to check in again; I priced out the total cost of two one-way tickets from LAX-LGW-MUC with 2 x 20 kg bags of luggage per person on both flights and it came to under $950 USD total, for two!
posted by mdonley at 10:56 AM on July 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Some ideas:
- it's fine to just not turn up for that return flight IF you have booked a fare which doesn't charge you a no-show fee
- it's fine for your return to be a date you might have wanted to be in the US anyway, even if way in advance, like next summer; you can then use a one-way back to Europe (where you will presumably have a right to work/reside by then, so a one-way will be fine) with carry-ons only on, like, Norwegian/WOW/Icelandair or something cheaper later
- flying from Los Angeles gives you far more interesting options (like flying Ethiopian to Dublin and then flying from Dublin to Munich on Lufthansa) - the minimal cost of a one-way car rental straight to LAX for you and all your stuff might far outweigh the cost difference of flights
- could one of you fly in business class and thereby take more of the bags for less money?
- could you join the miles programme of whoever you fly (or one of their partners) and earn enough miles from this very long trip to earn elite status, and thus offset some of the costs?
- if you want to avoid changing planes/your computer getting lost at a transfer airport, could you go to LAX or SFO and catch the nonstop Lufthansa flight to Munich?
- if you must leave from Las Vegas, Condor offers cheap-ish one-ways to Frankfurt that then connect to one of the many Lufthansa flights to Munich daily; a LAS-FRA-MUC ticket on their site on October 16 in cheapest economy came to just $369, but they won't let you add an extra bag because you've got that Lufthansa connection attached (perhaps if you called?). For that little I bet you could ship everything over and just fly with a single carry-on and checked bag and come out ahead.
- do not book this as two separate tickets on two separate itineraries (one itinerary with two airlines linked as a single ticket is fine)
- buy travel insurance - and check that it includes some sort of coverage for electronics/bikes
- if you are really, really price sensitive there are some ridiculously low fares from Los Angeles to Munich on Norwegian connecting to Easyjet on worldwide.easyjet.com using Gatwick Connects, an initiative of London Gatwick airport that guarantees your connection and throws in a glass of wine and premium security at Gatwick. You go through immigration, collect your bags at baggage reclaim and then take them to the Gatwick Connects transfer desk in the reclaim area, and then go straight up to security, without needing to check in again; I priced out the total cost of two one-way tickets from LAX-LGW-MUC with 2 x 20 kg bags of luggage per person on both flights and it came to under $950 USD total, for two!
posted by mdonley at 10:56 AM on July 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would suggest you go through the flyertalk forums in order to get that 27" imac transported well. Be sure to have all your tax documents (or receipts) to prove the imac is older than six months or you will have to pay customs duties when arriving in Germany. You might consider shipping it as well as the bicycle. Fedex or DHL should have some good options for that. Do give the imac some extra bubble wrap - loose, not tightly wrapped.
You absolutely need insurance for this type of luggage as the contract of carriage on all airlines will limit their liability way below the value of your goods. and back up that mac.
I really like Turkish Airlines for flights to Germany. Yes, you will stop over in Istanbul but they fly frequently and generally provide great service. There is no premium economy, only coach or business, but my feeling is that you should have no problems getting their help with your oversized luggage. I also had good experiences with Emirates, which is a stopover in Dubai but flies widebodies to their German destinations, meaning no changing into a narrowbody airplane like an A320 or B737 where cargo space is more limited and your goods are more likely to get bumped. Lufthansa is solid as well.
posted by krautland at 12:06 PM on July 4, 2018
You absolutely need insurance for this type of luggage as the contract of carriage on all airlines will limit their liability way below the value of your goods. and back up that mac.
I really like Turkish Airlines for flights to Germany. Yes, you will stop over in Istanbul but they fly frequently and generally provide great service. There is no premium economy, only coach or business, but my feeling is that you should have no problems getting their help with your oversized luggage. I also had good experiences with Emirates, which is a stopover in Dubai but flies widebodies to their German destinations, meaning no changing into a narrowbody airplane like an A320 or B737 where cargo space is more limited and your goods are more likely to get bumped. Lufthansa is solid as well.
posted by krautland at 12:06 PM on July 4, 2018
I've moved countries several times. I've never used a travel agent. They can take care of the administrative side of luggage for you, but they'll charge you the same prices for bags that airlines post on their websites, and they don't have any tricks for one way flights you don't also have via Google Flights. So if your motivation is saving money, travel agents aren't going to help. They may save you time, but if you decide to figure this out yourself, here are some comments.
Most intercontinental airlines charge a significant one-way premium. As others have said, consider a return ticket and just not turning up for the return leg. This may be the simplest, cheapest option on mainstream airlines like American and Lufthansa.
The absolute cheapest option is probably a budget airline such as Norwegian, where a one way ticket is half the price of the (already very cheap) return. You'll either have to live with two connections, and/or drive to LAX to make this work. One of those connections may be in the UK, and you may have to clear customs with your checked luggage. In which case I will hold you in my prayers (or you should send your luggage separately).
Somewhere in the middle, and the option I'd recommend is Eurowings. They fly direct from LV to Munich a couple of times per week, and will sell you a one way ticket in October for $700. With 3 suitcases per person, that goes up to $1000 total per person. The bicycle is another $119 and the iMac (i.e. another checked luggage item) is another $178 (although watch out for customs, as others have said). I don't think you'll get much cheaper than this without connections.
Finally, if you have air miles, they are the cheapest way to travel one way on international flights on mainstream airlines. Getting enough air miles quickly might be tricky, but it's possible. Consider credit card sign up bonuses (usually something like "spend $3000 within 3 months and get 50,000 miles"), or just buy the miles. An off peak economy flight to Europe on American is 22,500 miles per person. You can buy that many miles for $531. Given your luggage, it may even be cost effective to buy your way to an economy plus or business class award flight. This comes with an extra free checked bag on most airlines. But be sure to check award flight availability before spending any money on this plan.
posted by caek at 1:27 PM on July 5, 2018
Most intercontinental airlines charge a significant one-way premium. As others have said, consider a return ticket and just not turning up for the return leg. This may be the simplest, cheapest option on mainstream airlines like American and Lufthansa.
The absolute cheapest option is probably a budget airline such as Norwegian, where a one way ticket is half the price of the (already very cheap) return. You'll either have to live with two connections, and/or drive to LAX to make this work. One of those connections may be in the UK, and you may have to clear customs with your checked luggage. In which case I will hold you in my prayers (or you should send your luggage separately).
Somewhere in the middle, and the option I'd recommend is Eurowings. They fly direct from LV to Munich a couple of times per week, and will sell you a one way ticket in October for $700. With 3 suitcases per person, that goes up to $1000 total per person. The bicycle is another $119 and the iMac (i.e. another checked luggage item) is another $178 (although watch out for customs, as others have said). I don't think you'll get much cheaper than this without connections.
Finally, if you have air miles, they are the cheapest way to travel one way on international flights on mainstream airlines. Getting enough air miles quickly might be tricky, but it's possible. Consider credit card sign up bonuses (usually something like "spend $3000 within 3 months and get 50,000 miles"), or just buy the miles. An off peak economy flight to Europe on American is 22,500 miles per person. You can buy that many miles for $531. Given your luggage, it may even be cost effective to buy your way to an economy plus or business class award flight. This comes with an extra free checked bag on most airlines. But be sure to check award flight availability before spending any money on this plan.
posted by caek at 1:27 PM on July 5, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Kris10_b at 7:25 AM on July 4, 2018