While travel agents are expected to assist clients around the clock, many say after-hours support from airlines has become increasingly limited, making it harder to deal with disruptions outside office hours.
“There is practically no after-hours support. Even the few airline reps who share their cell numbers rarely answer after hours, which is frustrating when trying to assist clients,” said Stacy de Wet, Owner of SMD Travel.
Heather Lavery, Owner of The Travelling Agent, said not all airlines offered after-hours agent help desks. “It can be very frustrating when we cannot get assistance because we cannot call the agent help desk.”
An agent who wished to remain anonymous said 24/7 support should be mandatory for international airlines, as their flights operate around the clock. “If customers can access and book flights around the clock globally, then airlines should also be expected to provide around-the-clock support.”
Lavery said this was particularly important for airlines operating in different time zones. “Time zones impact office hours in different areas. For example, if my client is travelling in the US, they are eight hours behind us, which means the airline offices are generally closed in SA when the client is due to fly,” said Lavery.
Agents absorb costs
Agents say after-hours support has deteriorated in recent years, leaving them to absorb the financial and operational burden of resolving urgent issues.
“When I started in the travel industry in 2003, I don't remember after-hours support being this frustrating. Airline representatives seemed to be more willing to step in and assist,” said De Wet.
Another issue is the lack of local after-hours support. “A lot of airlines are not available on a South African number after hours. Calling overseas adds to financial costs which are usually covered by the agent. I had a case where it took me five phone calls at a cost of R650 over a weekend to sort out a flight cancellation,” said Lavery.
De Wet believes after-hours support is geared towards the customer. “How does one explain to a client that we cannot get an answer or assist them after hours, but if they call the airline, they can? But most of the time, if it is an agent-issued ticket, the airline will refer the passenger back to the issuing agent.”
ADM risk
Agents are often forced to make decisions that could result in penalties.
“If there is a flight cancellation or delay and we as the agent need to reissue or change the ticket, we often are not allowed to do that without some sort of authority from the airline,” said Lavery.
De Wet said they needed to obtain authority in writing to avoid ADMs, which could be impossible after hours. She said this could lead to risky decisions.
“We often have to make risky decisions due to the fact that we cannot contact anyone for confirmation after hours. It is incredibly stressful as we can be penalised if we make any mistakes.”
Alternatives
Without airline support, agents have to rely on alternatives.
“We normally try and contact sales reps who are usually very helpful, but it is not really fair on them either,” said Lavery.
The anonymous agent said she turned to the industry for assistance. “One resorts to the wisdom of the crowd, hoping someone has experienced a similar problem and can offer a connection.”
In some cases, she covers the costs of alternative arrangements herself. “When suppliers are not available, it means pulling out that personal credit card to pay for new shuttles, flights, etc., just to get the client to their final destination as a matter of urgency,” she said.
She said this had left her with personal debt.
She added that some airlines, despite having an available call centre, lacked senior staff on duty to make difficult decisions.
“The incident gets pushed until management returns on Monday. When Monday arrives, none of the managers want to take responsibility or assist in resolving the problem,” she said.
