Anyone still book flights at a physical shop?

[claretclubber]

Looking at booking some flights to Thailand. I'll arrange all the accommodation/internal transport myself but not sure whether it is worth travelling to Manchester City centre to visit a 'flight centre'/ 'trail finders' style shop for the flights or just use the comparison sites and airlines own sites, clear cookies or use a totally separate device/connection when booking?

 

[freakstar]

Looking at booking some flights to Thailand. I'll arrange all the accommodation/internal transport myself but not sure whether it is worth travelling to Manchester City centre to visit a 'flight centre'/ 'trail finders' style shop for the flights or just use the comparison sites and airlines own sites, clear cookies or use a totally separate device/connection when booking?

Always book direct especially for long flights and when you have connections in case anything goes wrong. These days you usually get best price from the airline direct.

 

[feynman]

Me

In case of problems, I have a telephone number . In one case, I had a delay of some hours. After the trip I spoke with them and got money back without problems.
If the difference is not too big , I book in a shop.

 

[eclipse15]

Looking at booking some flights to Thailand. I'll arrange all the accommodation/internal transport myself but not sure whether it is worth travelling to Manchester City centre to visit a 'flight centre'/ 'trail finders' style shop for the flights or just use the comparison sites and airlines own sites, clear cookies or use a totally separate device/connection when booking?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Can sometimes be freebies to be had from the stores- upgrades, lounges, that sort of shabang

 

[B_Falls]

You can do everything online that the travel centers can. They mark everything up for their services to cover overhead and profit, so it will always be more.

Book your flights direct through whatever carrier you want to use, same for hotels. If there's an issue they are required to sort you out directly (it can still be a giant pain however). For something as straightforward as flights it's definitely better to do it yourself.

DM me if you want a hand, I play travel agent as a hobby.

 

[Springal]

Looking at booking some flights to Thailand. I'll arrange all the accommodation/internal transport myself but not sure whether it is worth travelling to Manchester City centre to visit a 'flight centre'/ 'trail finders' style shop for the flights or just use the comparison sites and airlines own sites, clear cookies or use a totally separate device/connection when booking?

The likes of trailfinders still use in shop staff for phones rather than call centres so worse case give them a call. I think there is still value in travel agents for longer itineraries with different cities / hotels - or if you want ideas / recommendations.

Also consider holiday packages from airlines - I’ve had some amazing deals with BA Holidays for a flight / hotel package I’d not have been able to get for the same price separately + benefits of depot / with balance 60 days before the trip etc

Going to Asia generally you’ll find the Middle Eastern airlines (emirates , Qatar) cheapest and fly from Manchester - layovers shouldn’t be to bad either

 

[claretclubber]

Thanks for the replies.

Mrs got a bug when I was planning to go Manchester, only feasible day I could go, so decided to book direct through Emirates. I could have got it slightly cheaper with Lufthansia but the leg between Munich/Bangkok was too long with a 4yr old imo

Also my wife might decide to upgrade the flights, she likes Emirates offering and it it easier (only possible?) to do directly.

Looking forward to four weeks of travelling around