William Blessing, a lawyer who successfully defended Rosen's practice in court against Delta Airlines, contends that the major airlines have monopolies in their hub cities. And, remember, Rosen had to fight his case in court. Industry experts say you should do all of the above. The Internet now has dozens of sites where consumers can search for good airfares and find flight times. But some experts say the Internet gives a false sense of price security as consumers become their own travel agents.
Many people still do.
The Internet has been both a friend and an enemy to traditional travel agencies, said Allan Johnson, owner of Allan Johnson Travel Inc. in West Akron. While the Internet may have taken away airline ticket business from agencies, it's helping with vacation planning as travelers can log onto the Web and see pictures of the places they'll visit. Johnson estimates that 75 percent of an agency's old business used to be booking airline tickets for leisure travelers. Now, about 70 percent of an agency's business is corporate travel and 30 percent is for leisure travelers, he said. Travel agent commissions have been cut by airlines so drastically that many agencies now charge service fees to book tickets, something they never had to do before.