Have any of you booked your own flights to Africa?

[JGRaider]

I've used TWG three times prior to this year, mainly because I was a rookie and was taking my own rifle. This year I decided to do it myself and it was painless, at least the planning part was and it remains to be seen if there are any hassles/problems for the August'16 trip to Namibia.

I used this: https://www.google.com/flights/

I chose the flexible dates option, and let the search begin. The agent's won't save you anything if you're flying Delta, which I prefer. I called Delta prior to booking and asked if I booked via a third party (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc) if I could upgrade to Delta comfort and they said no problem, but would have to do that after the reservation was made. That's what I did and it worked perfectly. I then went to Africa Sky website, sent Leoni an email requesting a room for August 12th, she confirmed it was available, so I proceeded to go deposit the $$ directly into their USA bank account @ BofA. I scanned and emailed to her the receipts and she sent me a "paid in full" confirmation immediately.

It was a painless process all the way around. Now I will pray for good weather and for no unplanned problems to pop up prior to leaving.

 

[AB2506]

I did my own research and had no issues determining flights and fees to Johannesburg. However, I was unable to research connecting flights to East London. I don't why. I would enter Calgary to East London, and get flights to Joberg, but no options to East London. I called a travel agent who specializes in booking hunters to Afica and she was able to book us to East London for the best price I had found to only get to Joberg. It was like my third leg of travel was free. She was great help making sure the airline was advised about the firearm, booking seats etc.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Linking those tickets is really important. Buying tickets piece meal can cause the nightmare Phillip described.

I have booked my own flights and have also used Agents.
Some agents are worth every nickel you pay them, other's not so much. (as noted above)

I pay the extra fee on the late released seats to have a little more room.
On the outbound route you have a phone and can call fairly easily. (The agents can't access them any earlier than you can.) On the return you may be out of comms and can not get through to book, never mind being in a foreign country.

On one occasion I asked an agent to book some specific seats on the scheduled planes and I thought it was taken care of.
I ended up in the second to worst seats on the plane.
The Air carrier changed planes and thus the seating numbers I provided did not correspond to my directions so the agent just reserved a seat.
Imagine my shock when I arrived at the airport. Screwed.

I upgraded my seat for the second leg of the journey for $500 more for a last minute change. Lovely.

If I were going to a more complicated destination I'll be using a trusted agent.

 

[Therack]

I'm going in September from Denver-Dulles-Joberg-Port Elizabeth. The agents original quote was $2000, I found flights on Priceline for $1400 with a competing airline. The agent told me they were for the smaller seats, I'm 6'2" tall and need a little extra leg room so I paid extra for a wider seat with more leg room. I ended up paying $1700 for the bigger seat and also a travel agent fee for booking with an airline the agent wasn't affiliated with. Travel agents are paid by the airlines so they are biased when booking you flights. If you think the ticket is too high get a second opinion and call a different agent for a quote.

 

[JimP]

One thing that a travel agent that is familiar with hunting will do is to put you onto a gun friendly airline. Last year when I was planning on doing my own tickets I almost booked with a airline that wasn't gun friendly but then I called Lori at Travel Express and had her take care of my flight from Denver, Co to Port Elizabeth. She did it for the same amount of money including her fee. She then caught a change in flights and informed me of what was going on and asked what I would like to do. If I would of done what the airline wanted me to do I would of missed my flight out of Dulles on my way home.

So I personally believe that for international flights it is best to use a agent that is familiar with them but domestic around the US I'll just do it on my own.

 

[BWH]

I truly do believe that agents are of value, especially for unique situations or for the person not savvy with travel or technology or the destination. I do not want to undervalue them at all. They also have connections with the carriers on special seating, etc.

 

[jeff]

I truly do believe that agents are of value, especially for unique situations or for the person not savvy with travel or technology or the destination. I do not want to undervalue them at all. They also have connections with the carriers on special seating, etc.

I fully agree, but for just Namibia or SA I have always been able to save a little by booking the flights myself and doing my own shopping.

 

[BWH]

Yep for sure.... If all you are basically doing is going from point A to B. Not a lot to it, with all the good info available out there/here.

 

[enysse]

I appreciate all the responses, I'm going to do a little more research, but thanks for confidence boost. I was wondering what you guys did for your flights, the information is helpful.

 

[lcq]

I booked last year Mtl->> Atl--> Jnb return $1100 Cdn The trick is book early and be flexible on dates and the number of days. I saved huge by staying an extra 2 days.

 

[JimP]

One other thing that a travel agent will help you with is that if something changes on your flights while you are out in the bush away from the internet where you can check in on your flights on your way home. They can get things taken care of while you are out having fun and not worrying about how your are going to get home.

 

[Nyati]

Enysse, I have done both, it all depends on the complexity of the trip.

However, if you do have a problem with an airline, a good agent has more clout than you do.

 

[Albert GRANT]

I booked this past friday direct thru south african, boston to port elizabeth for end of august 2016 Came to $1349

 

[Christina Nyczepir]

When traveling to Africa, the gentlemen I hunt through go through Areva Travel Consultants out of Boerne, TX. The cost of my tickets from Dulles to JO, then to Hoedspruit and later home again came to $1136.00. I don't know how many years they've been using them, but no real problems that I know of or they would no longer be using the agency. I also double check on my seats to ensure they don't change.

 

[edward]

one thing about being in charge,when the shit hits the fan,enjoy it, as your the boss and have no one to blame or help.gracey travel for me.

 

[Buckdog]

wow guys the last I heard it was 2016, ever hear of a SMARTPHONE or an IPAD, etc. No need for travel agents they do nothing for you you cant do for yourself 24/7 with technology damn near anywhere anytime. down load the delta app track your bags yourself while you are at the gate or on the plane, change your seats, etc all the major carriers have apps, etc. they even have electronic scan boarding passes. word of advice dont use those print a real one the electronic ones dont always scan and you are SOL if you hit TSA and it doesnt work the paper boarding pass always works. Travel agents cant help you if the agency is closed when the shit goes south but you can help yourself. I just buy an international data/call plan for 30 days when I am out of the country or just a burner in the country.

 

[JimP]

wow guys the last I heard it was 2016, ever hear of a SMARTPHONE or an IPAD, etc. No need for travel agents they do nothing for you you cant do for yourself 24/7 with technology damn near anywhere anytime. .

Technology is fantastic when you have it. On my safari last year we didn't have it until we went into the city which would of been too late if there had been flight problems.

Heck, I hunt here in the US where technology doesn't work.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I book all my travel myself for business and personal. I used miles for my trip to Africa and into South Africa it is pretty much a straight shot as I am close to Dulles. Don't buy tickets piecemeal as then you will have problems, if you book end to end and a flight is delayed they automatically can tell you if you will miss you next one and let you rebook to the next flight and they do it for no charge. Shit happens when you travel but with a smart phone, IPAD, or laptop you can find wifi somewhere and get it sorted out pretty quickly. I think this can save you money but also lets you work with the schedule that works for you.

If you a member on here you already know gun friendly airlines and airports so the travel agent doesn't really help there.

 

[Royal27]

For stateside trios I always book myself, wouldn't dream of using an agent.

For international I've always used an agent, with @Travel Express booking the last two. From those two times I've noticed no real price difference. It was a wash compared to if I had booked it on the Internet on my own.

But, there is a difference, to me. If flights change and cause issues Lori deals with it, not me. I had this happen last year. It could have been a real pain in the butt for me, but Lori dealt with it. That's good "free" insurance for me. And after a couple of trips now I trust what she tells me and she has an idea of what I want.

So my vote is to use an agent and in my experience you won't pay more, not with a good agent anyway.

 

[enysse]

I'll give Lori a call tomorrow to see what the price is, I hope to have this airline booked soon.