Are travel agents cheaper than booking direct with the airlines? We find out / news.com.au Source: news.com.au

While price is still the deciding factor in the majority of people’s thinking, there’s also time spent researching, convenience and peace of mind to take into account. And that’s before you’ve even decided if the three-leg flight with nine-hour stopover in Myanmar is worth the $97 you’ll save.

Our travel challenge is to see which of the three options scored best overall when it comes to booking an international flight.

ITINERARY: Sydney to London Heathrow - return
When: August 5 to September 5

OPTION ONE: TRAVEL AGENT
Who: Flight Centre

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The booking process
In the internet age, it seems a little quaint to go into a travel agent to book your flights but there’s something reassuring about speaking to an expert in their field. Or maybe it’s just all the colourful brochures on the shelves behind them…

The fun of the travel agent option is the roller-coaster of emotions you experience as the best flights are being sought out. Every ‘ooh’ or ‘aah’ by the consultant is greeted with a stomach flutter feeling that you’re going to get the last seat on a super-cheap flight, only for a tut or a "bugger" under their breath sending you back down to earth.

The big plus point of a "face-to-face" is the constant dialogue between consultant and customer, allowing you to fine-tune dates, stopovers and transit times. One particular flight had a night in a hotel between the two legs (a "no" for me), while another option lessened a stopover by five hours for an extra $50 – all little variables that I would only have found out about by speaking to someone.

Time spent
From walking in the shop to leaving with a printed quote, it took 25 minutes. Easily do-able during a lunch break.

Best flight
Virgin Atlantic for $2388.81 via Hong Kong on my preferred dates. I was able to pick an afternoon departure that lessened my stopover time in HK.

Result
The travel agent option definitely takes the strain out of the process, leaving all the legwork to someone else. If like me you like to ask a lot of questions about cancellation fees, date changes and if I’ll be sitting next to crying baby, there’s nothing better than a real live human behind a keyboard.

OPTION 2: ONLINE TRAVEL AGENT
Who: Travel.com.au

The booking process
Wanting to match the "lunchtime" experience of the travel agent, I set myself the same timeframe for my online search.

And the ease with which I entered my flight details into the homepage immediately had me wondering why I met with an "expert" in the first place, with the site immediately spitting out numerous flights in the $1700-$2350 price range.

However upon closer inspection, it showed the first 10 airline options couldn’t service my exact dates and a rather laborious (and time-consuming) process of clicking into each option and letting a search engine find the nearest departure and return dates was necessary to get a price.

A couple of options looked OK if I compromised on departure/return, but one choice highlighted the weakness of the online option.

A Korean Air flight came in under $2000 but had a 40-odd hour duration for outward leg. Having completed this flight previously, I knew this would be a stopover in Seoul and a night in a hotel, but the online booking had no mention of this. I chuckled at the thought of a poor online virgin having to sleep in that awkward "W" position across the airport seats in Seoul after an ill-informed booking.

Time spent
A lunch break turned into a lunch hour after the alternative date search engines did their thing.

Best flight
Thai Airways for $2342 via Bangkok had a quick return portion at just over 22 hours including stopover.

The result
As an amateur online travel agent, I felt as if I’d left no stone unturned in my quest for a good flight on my dates. It was a little time consuming with the search engines at points and with some options not telling me how long the stopovers would be, I felt a bit in the dark. However I found a good priced flights for the days I wanted to travel - all without having to put trousers on.

OPTION 3: DIRECT WITH THE AIRLINE

The booking process
So if I now know which airlines fly to London the cheapest, it should be more economical and convenient to just book direct with the airline, right? Erm, no.

While it was simple to get on the airlines website (most don’t take bookings over the phone if they answer at all), flights booked directly with the airline are, almost without exception, more expensive.

Air China did have flights for my dates – despite travel.com.au saying there wasn’t availability – but for a mind-blowing $3333.76. Korean Air checked in at $2982 (compared to $1956 on travel.com.au), while Virgin Atlantic was a standard $2415 all week.

Time spent
With a hit-list of six airlines, half an hour was all that was needed to find out that with one exception, booking via the airlines is not an option for a budget-conscious traveller.

Best flight
If you can ignore the dodgy Fisher Price "my first website" look of China Airlines you can default font your way to a return for $1900.

The result
It’s hard to see any reason why you would book direct with the airline for an international flight of this nature. Every flight bar one was more expensive than it’s online travel agency equivalent.

FINAL THOUGHT
While it’s safe to say booking direct with the airlines has few advantages, it’s always worth foraging for a potential bargain as the cheapest flight from all searches was found in this manner.

However, it’s hard to separate the online vs travel agent option for the best way to find a flight. Prices compared well and both choices could be easily undertaken in a lunch hour.

Ultimately it comes down to what type of traveller you are. If you have the time to root out a bargain and have a confident, DIY attitude, then online is the go. But if you prefer to talk things through and want the assurance that an expert has put in the hard yards for you, then you might have to put on those trousers and head to the nearest travel agent.

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