Just wondering if anyone knows of a good agency that caters to the foriegn community? My wife is checking the Japanese ones and I have been assigned to check the ones to cater to the FGs. Can anyone here direct me to a good service? Mahalo very gozaimasu.

Hey Wanks,

I've used No. 1 Travel and haven't had any problems.

Thanks AK

yeah, i send most of my staff to no1 travel, they are the best, most useful and friendliest,
Having said that, HIS in nagoya is also very good, although they have english speaking staff, its not guaranteed youll get them when you walk in off the street, you gotta call in advance first.

I have just started using GM Travel

I have found the prices great and the service much better than No 1 travel.

GomiGirl wrote:I have just started using GM Travel

I have found the prices great and the service much better than No 1 travel.

Yeah, I just furikomi'd my payment to No 1. They came back with an email saying the 'fuel surcharge' suddenly jumped; I need to furikomi another 5,200 yen..

What's the point of an invoice if they can change the price whenever they feel like it?..

Looks like I'm stuck with them for this trip, but I'll be using someone else next time..

GJ

http://www.iace.co.jp/english/

Just picked up my tickets for Taiwan.

That iace place seems pretty expensive......IMHO.

[quote="GuyJean"]Yeah, I just furikomi'd my payment to No 1. They came back with an email saying the 'fuel surcharge' suddenly jumped]
It's the airlines... They up'd all their fuel surcharges as of Monday. Any tickets not issued by Friday of last week will be required to pay the higher surcharge.

That said, a proper full-service travel agent would have notified you last week when they found out this was going to happen. A proper full-service agent will also try to their best to let you know if your flight departure is delayed to save you getting to the airport 2-3 hours earlier than required. They also will often manage to find tickets when other agents can't, and are actually knowledgeable about routing options.

Might cost you an extra 1000 to 2000 per ticket, but often it won't. And once you have a good working relationship with a good agent you will save yourself tons of time calling around to try to save 500yen...

FG Lurker wrote:It's the airlines... They up'd all their fuel surcharges as of Monday. Any tickets not issued by Friday of last week will be required to pay the higher surcharge.

So she tells me.. (A day too late)..

FG Lurker wrote:Might cost you an extra 1000 to 2000 per ticket, but often it won't. And once you have a good working relationship with a good agent you will save yourself tons of time calling around to try to save 500yen...

Yeah, I used to have a regular agent, but he left.. Haven't had many good experiences since..

The 5,000 yen increase isn't much, but it's the principle that pisses me off..

GJ

GuyJean wrote:So she tells me.. (A day too late)..Yeah, I used to have a regular agent, but he left.. Haven't had many good experiences since..

The 5,000 yen increase isn't much, but it's the principle that pisses me off..

GJ

How often have airlines been upping the surcharge? Did they do it over the summer as well?
Plane wrong?
Japan Times

Max Phillips Jr. wrote in after getting a nasty shock from his local travel agency.

"My wife (Japanese) and I are going to Hawaii in September. Since we are arranging to meet my (mid-60s) parents there, we thought it best to plan as far in advance as possible.

"I went to the local H.I.S. office to inquire about airline ticket prices. In May we agreed to buy a ticket for an (as of that time) unpublished airline and put a four-man deposit down on the tickets. I paid the remainder of the quoted ticket price on July 6. (I have the documentation showing that I paid the remaining balance, as recorded by H.I.S.)

"On Aug. 10, I received an e-mail from an H.I.S. agent informing me that even though I have already paid what they quoted me and what we agreed on, that I must now pay an additional fee because the airline has decided to increase their fuel surcharge on selected routes....more...

Captain Japan wrote:How often have airlines been upping the surcharge? Did they do it over the summer as well?
Plane wrong?
Japan Times

Once tickets are issued any increase in fuel surcharge won't need to be paid.

I am guessing that Max told them to not issue the tickets (just hold the reservation) in case the trip needed to be changed or canceled. This is great in that if changes/cancellation become necessary there are no change/cancellation charges. The downside is it also means that any fare or fuel surcharge increases have to be covered.

In the end the problem is that his agent likely didn't explain this to him. Either the agent didn't know it themselves (HIS et al have a lot of very green agents), or the agent couldn't be bothered/didn't have time to do a proper job.

Looking at it from a different angle, he was expecting good service from a company that focuses solely on price.

Captain Japan wrote:How often have airlines been upping the surcharge? Did they do it over the summer as well?
Plane wrong?
Japan Times

You know what's strange? I was dealing with No 1 Travel on the phone and via email, but when I made the furikomi, the account was H.I.S..

(Actually, that's probably not strange; I just wasn't paying 'Mulboyne' attention to the travel agency business..)

GJ

GuyJean wrote:You know what's strange? I was dealing with No 1 Travel on the phone and via email, but when I made the furikomi, the account was H.I.S..

I think No1 is the gaijin-focused part of HIS.

I just priced a ticket with No1 Travel and this is what I got:

Good morning!! Thank you very much for the inquiry!
This is MAKI, please tell me if you have any question.

*NORTHWEST AIRLINES*
70000YEN + TAX(36000YEN) = 106000YEN

How can the tax be 51% of the ticket cost... I am dumbfounded.

Big Booger wrote:.. How can the tax be 51% of the ticket cost... I am dumbfounded.

I think that's normal these days.. My ticket is a similar price, with probably the same 'Maki'. Tell her GuyJean wants her to suck his 'surcharging' cock!

If you're landing in the States, they have some sort of 'landing tax', I believe.. Plus, you have the basic assortment of 'bend over' taxes. You're now paying at least 30,000 yen in 'taxes' for a cheap 50,000 yen ticket..

GJ

Doesn't No. 1Travel still have their "Gaijin Surcharge" scam?

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=254

Besides that, I've always thought their services suck.

I use http://www.arukikata.com to buy tickets but I'm not sure if they have English services or not.

For simple destinations in the U.S. (LA, SF, NY), the JAL Web page might be the way to go. I never thought I would type that but...you pay by credit card, get an e-ticket, and prices seems pretty comparable as far as fares and senseless taxes.

Taxes and surcharges are usually out of the control of any travel agent although I don't doubt that some unscrupulous characters might pad a price with fake charges to boost their margins. As FG Lurker says, the best way to avoid any late extra charges is to ask for the ticket to be issued once you have received a quotation you are happy with.

If you want a good travel agent then you have to find a good individual rather than a good company. All agencies have essentially the same products on offer so what you want is an agent within the company who can work on your behalf to find you the best deals. If you work with them regularly, they may even call you when they see a great offer because they know what kind of flights and destinations you use. A great agent can call in favours for good customers. For instance, you might buy a ticket with restrictions but the agent can change your dates with no penalty if your schedule changes at short notice.

If all you get from a company is a talking head with no initiative then you are probably going to be better off searching for you own flights online.