• Client books from here to Accra (lets not name and shame) – booked with an airline that leaves Sunday night. His passport – 3 visas in 2 weeks including an Angolan visa which on its own should take 2 weeks is delivered on Saturday morning as the passport only came out the embassy just before 5 on Friday. When opening passport it seems one of the visas have disappeared from the passport. Action stations – delay the flight by a day and fight for a same day visa Monday. Now as the meetings are important and your airline does not fly on the day that is needed to assist this client – why should the client be out of pocket for your lack of service delivery and imposed rules saying the fares are non refundable. The refundable ticket is almost double the price. So in this instance are we saying that the client must buy the more expensive ticket in case something like this happens? I must tell you straight off that by doing this you are making the complete trip not feasible anymore – and you will loose a seat. I completely understand the fact that they are cheaper tickets and there are rules etc however the client did not have the option to fly the next day and you did not have a service – added to the fact he has an extremely valid excuse not to fly there certainly should be some leniency in the situation!
• Book and pay – ever tried to book flights to Pakistan @ the last minute. Try it getting seats borders on a lottery system. Scenario – Client needs to fly Sunday – problems with servers etc and guys need to go on site. Agency searches for 3 days for seats – finally picks up 2 seats and books. Quotes client and within 2 hrs bookings are cancelled. Have you ever tried to book – quote – get PO signed off by 3 people – payment sent – payment verified and issued within 2 hrs? Surely this is stretching the ticketing time limits a tad far – I could understand 8 hrs however 2 hrs – not feasible and if you were not the only airline with the monopoly on that route I would consider shifting business. As travel agents we have enough stress with the job without having the airlines work against you. It does however make you have to work stronger harder faster.
• Change fees and availability – in a similiar vain BA has a great system – straight forward change fees and upgrade when and if you need. This is easy and takes out the complete complexity of the system as a whole. Ever heard the term – Keep It Simple Stupid – well this certainly applies to everyone – I am not saying we need price collusion we need terms collusion – set the change rates on your tickets the same – make it EASIER for agents to want to use your airline – stop fighting against the agencies and complexing their every day lives – it is completely unnecessary and in turn you are complexing (Ok there is no such a word however there should be) your own lives as now when that client flies abroad.

To coin a phrase from a *wise* man – Simplicity – efficiency – repetition

No flights have been cancelled to or from Cape Town

The following flights from JNB to LHR have been cancelled.
BA034/ 30 May
BA034/ 02 June
BA034/ 03 June

The follwing flighs from LHR to JNB have been cancelled
BA033/ 30 May
BA055/ 30 May
BA033/ 01 June
BA033/ 03June

The routes between George and Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth to East London, Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontein and Nelspruit to Livingstone, Zambia will be permanently scrapped.

Source