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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Agents 1, Internet 0
Cheap Charlie · November 24, 1999

OK, congratulations are due. Travel agents can still do things that computers can't.

Well, at least I can say that when it comes to finding the best prices during crowded flying seasons, travel agents managed to do something that I couldn't manage on the Internet.

It all started when a beautiful friend suggested last week that we fly to London for the Thanksgiving holidays. Aahh. A dream was coming true -- not the London part, the weekend with this friend.

I immediately spring into action to set up the trip. Earlier, I had been surfing the Internet and saw Virgin Atlantic packages on 1Travel.com for only about $389, including air, three nights in a hotel and transfers plus a free breakfast at McDonald's on the morning of arrival.

What more could His Cheapness ask for?

This was going to be perfect. I eagerly hit the keyboard ready to sign up for a chance to wander arm-in-arm down Regent Street, drink ale at the Grenadier Pub with the duke of Wellington's ghost, crisscross the theater district, walk across Tower Bridge and enjoy the buskers at Covent Gardens.

My fingers danced across the keys -- www.1Travel.com ... www.expedia.com ... www.previewtravel.com ... www.lowestfare.com ....and more. All to no avail. And I am fairly familiar with the intricacies of Web travel systems.

There were no deals anywhere in the $400 per person range. I couldn't believe it. I was crushed.

But I took solace in the fact that perhaps on Thanksgiving weekend, booking at the last minute, flights may be full and that this was a vacation that wasn't meant to be.

During this same period I received e-mail from a collection of travel agents who feel I spend too much time outlining the ins and outs of Internet booking and touting the Web as the best place to find bargains.

So, I sent out a challenge. I told them that I needed to get from Boston to London on Wednesday the 24th of November and return on Sunday the 28th. I asked them for their lowest fare.

So far I was living in the range of $1000 or so just for airline tickets.

Within hours I had received suggestions of flying on Icelandic Air from Boston to London for less than $200 each way.

Seats were available and there was no advanced booking limitation on this fares. This flight never came up on any of the Internet booking engines. Why not? That's another story.

They also priced the trip for an individual. When I called for further information, I found even more bargains available when traveling as a couple.

Although the Internet is evolving into an excellent method of making reservations and gathering information for travelers, in this day and age a good travel agent is still one of the best friends a traveler can have.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at charlie@ticked.com or access his Web site.