Trying to get a reasonably priced non-stop flight from LA to NJ to Buffalo to LAX, my wife suggested a travel agent instead of the tried and true Internet. I grudgingly agreed and knowing nothing about the travel agency business, I can only assume it’s a sea of sharks offering the same old crap as I can find on-line.

Nevertheless, off to the “Auto Club” (triple-A, or AAA if you prefer) to use their services. What looked like a 30-minute project turned in 180 minutes. The highlights…

• The agent transposed my son’s name requiring her to void (wtf?) the ticket and re-issue it
• Continental Airlines provided a 50% discount on Junior’s fare but only for one segment; apparently AAA’s system doesn’t easily support this so I waited while multiple helpdesk calls were made
• After the ticket voiding issue Continental changed their story and told my agent they didn’t offer any child discounts (another wtf?) which necessitated more phone calls
• The agent somehow lost the seat assignments (which had been rows 4 and 10) and promised to do so the following day; so today we’re in rows 15, 17 and 20
• After this ticketing debacle was fixed she announced the Auto Club’s $35pp fee for booking the flights

At this point I didn’t have the energy (or time) to argue so I sealed the deal. The airfare is reasonably priced considering all but one segment is non-stop. What I’d do differently next time…

Use a travel agency that knows how to handle flying with small children. It’s hard to believe that one small child caused the efforts of at least four people and countless phone calls.