2015-12-01    Don't buy air ticket from travel agency?

No doubt most travel agencies in Hong Kong are reliable and honest. But the following story is a reminder to be careful when choosing an agency.

On November 17 I was asked to help an African asylum seeker buy a one-way ticket to Tanzania. The asylum seeker did not wish to stay in HK any longer, and had permission from the Immigration Department to leave HK.

I took the person to a well-known travel agency in Jordan, and asked for the cheapest possible ticket for November 19. I was assured that the cheapest ticket was HK$4992 (including taxes). This ticket was bought.

But when I got home and checked the internet, I found that I could have bought the same ticket on the same flight on the same day for HK$2992 (including taxes). And later I met someone else who had a similar experience at that agency on the same day: the agency wanted $2600 for a flight to Thailand that cost $1340 on the internet.