K.K. Travel on Moon Muang, any recommendations?

[seesip]

Looking to book an airline ticket and hoping to get some feedback on this agency. Thanks.

[beau thai]

I assumed, maybe wrongly that you always got better deals online through sites like Skyscanney, Kayak, Lastminute etc.

Be interested to learn of others experience as I am about to buy longhaul....

[CNXBKKMAN]

Travel agents can get you better deal than the online sites like sky scanner, kayak etc. But not every time you have to check both. Online and bricks and mortar travel agents and also the airlines own website.

Some airlines with the lowest airfares on certain routes don't show up on online searches. If you are not aware of them you miss out.

You need to check with a good travel agent not just the first one you see on the street. There are only a few expert travel agencies. If you have complicated travel requirements best to use a good agent from the start.

In Chiang Mai i use CNX P&P Travel 243-245 Thapae Rd. I don't know anything about KK Travel. I would head straight to CNX P&P.

[Rotweiler]

I strongly recommend KK - we have used them many times for non-local trips, overseas airline tickets, etc.

Very reliable and honest.

[seesip]

I strongly recommend KK - we have used them many times for non-local trips, overseas airline tickets, etc.

Very reliable and honest.

Great, thanks for the post, exactly what I was hoping to hear. I've checked online prices too but need a travel agent this time around.

[Ulysses G.]

I strongly recommend KK - we have used them many times for non-local trips, overseas airline tickets, etc.

Very reliable and honest.

One of my buddies who is VERY frugal has been using them for years. The guy who runs the place speaks English well and seems like a nice person.

[jko]

The big advantage of using a travel agent is the human contact.

Book something on line here - then try to get help with rerouting or any other snag if you're stuck in Berlin or wherever.

In that respect, I've always found K. Beauty at P&P to be invaluable, and very helpful.

And it beats wasting time visiting endless web sites trying the compare different rates and booking conditions.

[fang37]

Any member have the telephone number/s for K.K Travel?

[seesip]

Any member have the telephone number/s for K.K Travel?

053-227-422-4

I used them last month and highly recommend--easy to work with, accommodated a lot of revises, etc.

[northernjohn]

I use K&K business services on Tha Pae road. He has always done me right. For instance I was going to Bali one time with Air Asia and he knew that Singapore air was cheaper at the time by 500 baht and they allowed 20 kilogram suitcases. Now who would compare prices between the two on line.

Another time I was going to Seattle with EVA out of Bangkok. He got me the tickets except for the return from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I asked him why he didn't get me that one. He said if I changed my return date I would lose the fare I had paid on it. Just send him an e mail when I was sure of my return date. Which I did and it was two weeks later than my original plan. Saved me the flight fare from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Only had to pay it once.

[northernjohn]

Any member have the telephone number/s for K.K Travel?

Well the one I use is K&K business on Tha Pae road. Located kitty-corner from the old AIS building and up the road about 50 feet.

His phone number is 053 252 388.

I highly recommend him. He has done well for me. His English is really good.

I am not affiliated with him and if the Mods remove the phone number PM me and I will get it to you.

[Beng]

So there are 2 KK travels, one on Moonmuang next to Kasikorn bank and the other is on Thapae road. Are they both the same company ?

[seesip]

So there are 2 KK travels, one on Moonmuang next to Kasikorn bank and the other is on Thapae road. Are they both the same company ?

The phone number I posted is for the one on Moonmuang next to KSK bank. Don't know anything about the Thapae KK.

[Konini]

For the last 5 or 6 years we were in Australia, we travelled overseas on short holidays 5 or 6 times a year. I have always been an obsessive bargain hunter and I would (and still do) search way beyond what is considered normal for the cheapest fares. I had a great travel agent in Aus who worked for the Flight Centre; I would give her the dates, the flight numbers and the price I had found, and if she could match or better it the 5% commission was hers. Usually she matched it (when she saw I wasn't exaggerating about how much travel we'd be doing), sometimes she bettered it and sometimes she told me to book it quickly because there was no way she could match it.

I don't mind whether I book through an agent or online, but if the price is the same I'd much rather let the agent make a bit of money.

Not local, but great at getting back to you quickly via email or phone, Guy Lindsey-Watson at MTT Pattya who is (or was) a sponsor of Thai Visa is very highly recommended. It's not often that I find someone who went well and truly over and above what was expected, but he pulled off a blinder for us last year. My father in law in England was gravely ill and doctors said that anyone who wanted to say goodbye needed to be here in the next couple of days. Thankfully my husband was there at the end to support his mother. He travelled within 24 hours of me sending the email saying I needed a flight immediately. Might have been able to do that online, but a lot of full service airlines seem to cut online booking off 48 hours before departure, and at such a time it's good to have someone else sorting things out.

When you book online, the airline doesn't pay commission if you do it directly through their website or pays less commission to online travel agents. Either way, the airline makes more money. If an agent can get the same price, so it's not costing you any more, why not let them have the sale - this is what makes the wheels of industry keep on turning.

[northernjohn]

So there are 2 KK travels, one on Moonmuang next to Kasikorn bank and the other is on Thapae road. Are they both the same company ?

The phone number I posted is for the one on Moonmuang next to KSK bank. Don't know anything about the Thapae KK.

The one I posted was on Tha Pae road and is as I said K&K business service.

I don't think they are connected in any way.

[northernjohn]

For the last 5 or 6 years we were in Australia, we travelled overseas on short holidays 5 or 6 times a year. I have always been an obsessive bargain hunter and I would (and still do) search way beyond what is considered normal for the cheapest fares. I had a great travel agent in Aus who worked for the Flight Centre; I would give her the dates, the flight numbers and the price I had found, and if she could match or better it the 5% commission was hers. Usually she matched it (when she saw I wasn't exaggerating about how much travel we'd be doing), sometimes she bettered it and sometimes she told me to book it quickly because there was no way she could match it.

I don't mind whether I book through an agent or online, but if the price is the same I'd much rather let the agent make a bit of money.

Not local, but great at getting back to you quickly via email or phone, Guy Lindsey-Watson at MTT Pattya who is (or was) a sponsor of Thai Visa is very highly recommended. It's not often that I find someone who went well and truly over and above what was expected, but he pulled off a blinder for us last year. My father in law in England was gravely ill and doctors said that anyone who wanted to say goodbye needed to be here in the next couple of days. Thankfully my husband was there at the end to support his mother. He travelled within 24 hours of me sending the email saying I needed a flight immediately. Might have been able to do that online, but a lot of full service airlines seem to cut online booking off 48 hours before departure, and at such a time it's good to have someone else sorting things out.

When you book online, the airline doesn't pay commission if you do it directly through their website or pays less commission to online travel agents. Either way, the airline makes more money. If an agent can get the same price, so it's not costing you any more, why not let them have the sale - this is what makes the wheels of industry keep on turning.

I agree with you on using the agent. For Instance we are going to go to Seattle later this month I booked with my agent. No problem. I tried to find the flight for Korean Air on line and it was not there. I have a friend who like you spends a lot of time searching different air lines on line then takes them to the same agent I do and has had no problem with it. The one thing my agent won't do is book Air Asia.

[Konini]

^^^ Air Asia (and generally all other budget airlines) don't pay commissions, so unless the agent is making money from you elsewhere, they are doing it from the goodness of their heart.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Some agents will book Air Asia but its a slow booking process via the website. They have no control over the booking and its never going to generate much money for the hassle and potential problems that may arise.

A lot of regular airlines like BA, KLM, LH, AA etc give travel agents 1% commission or 0% and thats on the airfare part not the 15000 baht of taxes. So the agent adds on a booking fee US$30-50? Knowing this you might think to always book online direct but even with the agents fee they may a better deal than you can find online. Which would you book? 25000 baht total to pay( including a 1500 booking fee) with an agent or 26200 baht if you book direct online after 45 mins of searching and assuming you don't make date and name errors whilst booking. Bizarrely some people get fixated on the agents booking fee and are happier saving the fee but booking a more expensive airfare online.

[Beng]

Went there this morning, around 8:55. There was a girl behind the desk. I said "can I have one of your business cards ?" She said "No !".

I then repeated it in thai and she reached into a drawer and gave me a card without any further word. She seemed not very educated to me and was for sure pretty unfriendly. Not a good first impression.

[Konini]

Some agents will book Air Asia but its a slow booking process via the website. They have no control over the booking and its never going to generate much money for the hassle and potential problems that may arise.

A lot of regular airlines like BA, KLM, LH, AA etc give travel agents 1% commission or 0% and thats on the airfare part not the 15000 baht of taxes. So the agent adds on a booking fee US$30-50? Knowing this you might think to always book online direct but even with the agents fee they may a better deal than you can find online. Which would you book? 25000 baht total to pay( including a 1500 booking fee) with an agent or 26200 baht if you book direct online after 45 mins of searching and assuming you don't make date and name errors whilst booking. Bizarrely some people get fixated on the agents booking fee and are happier saving the fee but booking a more expensive airfare online.

I didn't know that agents would book AirAsia, I didn't think they paid commissions, or perhaps they add a little bit to the cost of the flight??? As you point out they have no control over the booking, which for me is the reason to use a travel agent rather than booking yourself. Our families back in UK go on package holidays to Spain and Greece and Turkey and always book through a travel agent. I've shown them that I could find the exact same holiday, same flight and same hotel a fair bit cheaper online, but no - who would they go to if anything went wrong? The Thomson or Thomas Cook onsite rep comes to mind, but they couldn't be convinced. Many people are like that, and that's OK - we're all different and it keeps people in work.

Are you sure about the 1% though? I know in US little or no commission is paid for domestic and not much for international, but 5% is the go in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and here to the best of my knowledge. I remember reading some time ago that commissions for domestic flights in UK were 7% and international flights 9%, - in a broadsheet, so quite likely true - but I don't know about other countries. I'm pretty sure I've been told by an agent here in Thailand that it is 5% here, I remember thinking at the time that it was the same as Aus.

And you're right about some 'special' fares going out to travel agents that nobody knows about. We've always tried to get to England every year and our agent in Melbourne knew that we would be going and it would be around September, October, November, dates weren't really important as we could both get time off whenever we wanted it. She always kept that in the back of her mind for if something special came across her desk. A few times she emailed me with an unbelieving sound of deal for tickets to UK but they had to be booked within a couple of days. A couple of times we snatched her hand off, other times we had other plans or couldn't go in the specified date range. These extra special fares were never online - believe me I looked for them - so when she said they were travel agent only fares, she was telling the truth.

The other thing which should always be borne in mind here is that while the special airfare on Nok or Bangkok Airways may still be a little more than AirAsia, if you're taking luggage with you (or getting a connecting flight from Swampy with Bangkok Airways) then that saving you are making may be negligible or gone altogether. That's when you have to look at the times of the flights to see which airline has your flight at the most convenient time for you.