My original agent I had talked to for about an hour over the phone and felt very comfortable with his knowledge, experience with traveling, and felt that he understood what I was trying to do. Everything was going well and boom, he ups and disappears for a mysterious surgery. The surgery turned out to be on his hand. It seemed to me that he could search and peck with one hand to at least tell me that. Whatever. I waited about 10 days and finally called to get a new person. The second choice was, to be nice, sub-par. I'm not 100% sure that English was her first language. I'll spare you the details of the tribulations I was put through as it's suffice to say that I called 2 weeks later to switch again. I talked with my current agent awhile, going over why I was switching and what my ultimate purpose. She seemed to "get it", and she is ultimately the one whom I just booked with. Her name is Lisa Corbin at STA Travel @ (206) 632-2448 - that's the office line. Anyway, I recommend booking through her if you plan on meeting up with me at any point.
Why use a travel agent? There are a couple "hidden" reasons. One is that if you get what is a "discount agency" you will get WAY cheaper tickets than you could get on your own. How much cheaper? The below itinerary cost me $2,100. Give it a try booking it yourself, keeping in mind that I am not making crazy 4 stop flights that take me halfway across the planet to take me back (although my price is still cheaper than what you'll come up with). Hell, right now it's $2,000 to fly from Buenos Aires to Auckland alone. How is that possible you ask? Airlines give "commissions" to these agencies, which are supposed to be passed down to the consumer. The reason for this is that almost all airlines in the world are part of an group that dictates prices. Yes, it's collusive. But no one outside of corporations and the wealthy can afford to fly at the prices, so airlines use this loophole to offer it cheaper. This is about the simplest explanation I can give. It will always be cheaper or at a minimum, less restrictive tickets than you can purchase via the internet. Sure, there are things like courier tickets and the like that would be cheaper, but they are too restrictive for my purposes.
In any case, the travel advice, expertise, and time I am saving by not doing it myself would be worth it for even the same cost. If I get stuck somewhere or need help (wide variety of things), Lisa is there for me.
Without further ado, here is the scheduled flights:
14OCT ALASKA AIRLINES - SEATTLE 530PM LOS ANGELES 800PM
15OCT TACA AIRLINES - LOS ANGELES 125AM BELIZE 942AM (PLANE CHANGE IN SAN SALVADOR 1 HOUR)
22OCT TACA AIRLINES - BELIZE 1230PM SAN JOSE 402PM (PLANE CHANGE IN SAN SALVADOR 1 HOUR)
06NOV COPA AIRLINES - PANAMA 315PM CARTAGENA 420PM
01MAR AIR CANADA - SANTIAGO 155PM BUENOS AIRES 345PM (YOU HAVE ABOUT 10 HOURS IN B.A.)
02MAR AEROLINEAS ARG. - BUENOS AIRES 215AM AUCKLAND 755AM (ARRIVE 03MAR)
01APR EMIRATES - CHRISTCHURCH 500PM SYDNEY 620PM
Remember that these are subject to change, esp. the further out they get, so if you want to meet up with me make sure to check in with me 3 months in advance, then again 1 month in advance before booking anything...
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