Travel is My Life; Work and Pleasure

There are a few ways to complain about an airline;

1) Write to them a letter - don’t expect too much unless you are a Platinum valuable member.

2) File it on Menogo - which is where guys like you and me share the “shit that happens” to us during our long travel.

3) Upload a silly song to YouTube and spam it - it rocks

Dave Carroll flew United Airlines, while on the tarmac he and his band found out that their gear / guitar is being vandalized.

He has tried to contact the airline rep and explain - no luck.  When has things changed? when he wrote a song and uploaded it to YouTube, with over 7m views and growing, United is now running after him to remove the song.

My point being - share your bad experience and share it in a way we can all learn about it; www.MeNoGo.com is the site i found growing towards being the right place to log it; Where Travelers Complain.

Use your experience, channel it to a positive way; Menogo

In the past few months airport security has become hell.  Especially “thanks” to the Nigerian terrorist, airport security has yet again taken a step up in its approach and now we are all considered as danger to society, and been treated as such.

My main concerns relate to the following main issues:

1) Travellers spend longer time while queuing for security lines.

2) The fact that all travellers need much longer connecting times at airports.

Those lines don’t get any sexier, at first it was belts then shoes, and now (take a look) 

3) New Advanced Technology “Revealing Secrets”; to all my friends who have “something to hide”; talking to you Lior&  Dudi, who just returned from Thailand - reason can be seen in the screen bellow:

4) Holiday destination; Travellers decide on a destination in a new manner:

So, take a deep breath, flying is not going to get any easier, so i suggest hitchhiking.

Have a safe trip and before you go on one, go buy a new set of cloths according to the new “regulations” your old ones may not be returned…The New D&G shop

Has anyone in BA realized that there is more money in “non-regular” destinations rather than fighting over same routes with more airlines…

On one hand Its good news for us, the travellers, we get to reach new destinations easier.

On the other hand, that means we are going back 20 years where airlines had some sort of royalties / monopoly on specific routes, thus, prices are high.

The new British Airways routes are:

Maldives !

Punta Cana

Montego Bay

Sharm El Sheikh

Las Vegas

Have fun flying from London to exotic places.

My advise would be to travel to Maldives, Punta Cana & Montego Bay; try this supplier for further details: www.luxury-voyage.com

I recently flew Royal Jordanian, yes yes, I flew coach for all of you who really wanted to know…

But at the airport I found a simple and relatively cheap way to up grade myself to business class; $300 upgrade for an 8 hours flight is a low price.

So i found myself sitting in an amazing Royal Jordanian business / first class sleeping bed all the way from Amman to Colombo (Sri Lanka) - and it was worth every penny.

Moreover, since in Muslim countries the ladies (married and single as far as I know) can not serve men, the air stewardess where Asians, which gave me a feeling as though I am flying in Singapore Airlines or Thai.

If anyone wants to upgrade to business, come buy the tickets from my office and i will tell you the secret :)

Flying cheap and in class is always fun… travel right means having a good travel agent who knows the small tricks.

Continental Airlines have just received a tentative approval from the US DOT (Department of Transportation) to join the Star Alliance Group.

IMHO (in my humble opinion) Conti is the strongest airline player in the Sky Team group of airlines;  guys, lets be honest; I hardly saw you flying Aero Flot, do you still trust Alitalia to fly? :) lets be honest from 1 to 10 dont we all suffer on an Air France flight…. 

How can one compare the quality of service of the skyteam to the great group of StarAlliance; Thai, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian, United, Air Canada, Swiss, All Nippon…

As i was saying, Continental Airlines will soon leave the group and join the strongest airline group the Star Alliance.

For some of us its good news, but for those who fly a lot and keep 2 major millage accounts, thus, one in each group: Star Alliance - Lufthansa and SkyTeam Conti, what would you do now? where will your miles go? will they allow merger of accounts? what about status match?

If to say something good about SkyTeam is that they have a much nicer website - more appealing, business minded, action orientated.

I will keep you all posted with the situation, and if you need any advise please do not hesitate to contact me in regards.

Spice it up says Spirit; Spirit Air decided to go wild, they believe in the young crowd and the male dominated travelers.

Advertisers, bring out the big guns - we need to think out of the box to bring us new users or we drop dead;

Spirit Air came up with some nice, out of the box, sexy slogans:

Many Islands Low Fares = MILF - which is better known on the Internet as: Mothers I’d Like to Fuck

GET Low Airfare to International Destinations - look carefully again: Get LAID.

Red Light Specials - no words are needed here right?!

The Airline with Double D’s; Spirit says its Deep Discounts, the flight attendants believe they were hired for their double B’s: “big boobs” to promote sales and make travelers happier.

 And have you watched their:  “Spirit Air How Low Can You Get” VDO ad ?

Whats so wrong with promotional ads with sexual connotations?

When you are stuck in the middle of nowhere you need to know the basics; Emergency numbers !

I dont like to post long tables - but guys, cut and paste the countries you visit most, and send this list to your friends, its vital info, specially when you dont speak the language, or worse; where there is no tele-systems…

继续阅读 »

Majority of the people would think that travel for business is fun; after all 60 million business people a year get to visit places on the expense of their company - guys, trust me; that much is so not true; it hurts, it’s not fun travel.

You have to take into account issues such as; the stress level, the work time schedule, the pre meeting preparations and the energy consumption of each meeting, what about the travel conditions such as jet lag, driving to distant locations, and poor hotel conditions…

When the day is over you don’t have much strength or passion for quality “travel” time; furthermore, on your own… the most you want is a hot meal & a long hot shower.

In the face of the world financial situation crime rate will increase. Travelers are easy targets, and unfortunately, business women are easier prey. For this reason and to all my wonderful, talented, powerful business women clients I made a short list with tips;

1) In general don’t tell people you are travelling on your own.

2) Arrive your new destination in day light; try to avoid late night hour arrival.

3) Driving a rented car;

a. Make sure you have a GPS - it’s worth every penny, avoid asking strangers for directions.

b. When driving your car - lock yourself inside.

c. Someone hits your car (by mistake or not!) - WAIT, take a minute, don’t open your car door and go out; take a minute to look around watch the location, try to pull into a gas station or any other public place like a hotel parking, drive through fast food etc.

4) Hotel rooms;

a. Ask for a mid floor room; not high to be left in the elevator on your own.

b. The room should not be too far from the elevator; avoid long dark scary corridors.

c. Make sure your room is locked.

5) Keep your belongings as close to you as possible; carryon computer bags are temptation to local bandits, specially at breakfasts when you are still half asleep and at dinners when you are on your own at a local restaurant and tired from a long day - it only takes a second… these guys are pros.

6) Taxi:

a. If he looks creepy don’t go in, wait for the next one, even if it rains L

b. Try to book your taxi in advance, women taxis are very common, don’t be shay to ask meeting companions to walk you out and wait for the taxi.

7) Dress code; I am aware that fashion is a matter of trend, and I am probably out of it L but getting dressed non provocatively is always a positive approach.

8) Keep in touch with home & office on regular basis.

9) 911 is known as the emergency number, from GSM phones its 112 - log it in your speed dial - it should work in most countries even without a SIM card.

Using common sense is perhaps the single best tip for staying safe and having a good time while you’re traveling alone.

Saying “Thank You” is the extra mile which makes the difference;

I’ve been working in the travel industry for almost 2 decades now; it’s a bloody hard work. Clients don’t really know what you go through to ensure their trip is perfect and satisfaction is guaranteed; thus, you hardly hear the words;” Thank You” from your clients.

From time to time I join cruise ship tourist groups who arrive Israel for a one day tour with Patra Travel.

Last month I helped an elderly man, weak in heart to walk the entire Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. He came all the way from the US to see the holy sites; I was not about the let him go back without actually visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

It was a tough physical challenge, so along the walk I nicknamed him “Tiger”.

Yesterday I’ve received this by snail mail and wanted to share

Mr. Bernard, it’s me who needs to thank you; what an honor to meet a gentleman as you.

They live on tourism (real pure tourism and sex tourism), so why do they think that closing the airport with riots will they improve their conditions?

The little people don’t think of the “after shock effect”, its been almost 24 hours that the 2 Bangkok airports are closed. This means all flights into Thailand are diverted to other destinations. Bangkok being not only a tourism destination it’s the South East Asia largest hub - and now it’s shut down!

The aftershock effect;

Airlines which now diverted the aircraft elsewhere will not be in able to shift back in a flash. After all, Thailand is a profitable destination but there is a point where airlines’ CEO cut the costs and shift traffic and utilizes aircrafts elsewhere.
A few important tips:

1) If you are in Bangkok now - crawl back to where you came from; the PatPong

a. And make sure your hotel booking is secured for the next few days

2) If you’re on one of the “Koh” (Islands) - go get a banana shake and a body massage.

a. Make sure your hummock has not been taken by some businessman who was left behind…

3) If you need to travel via BKK Airport - find an alternative.

a. BEFORE you start your travel,

b. Don’t trust the connecting flights from BKK to the further destination will operate,

c. Beware of OVERBOOKING - airlines might not be able to carry you on board as there are thousands of people waiting in line before you :)

Air Asia X has confirmed first flight on the route London (UK) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) will be in March 2009.

The advertised price is 99 GBP round trip… the airline will operate 5 times a week, carrying 286 passengers a direction.

I wonder what do; CEO Tony Fernandes & Owner Sir Richard Branson think they will be doing better than Oasis Airlines who closed their sole route London HongKong a couple of months ago.

Are there so many more Brits going to Malaysia - I thought HongKong will be a larger and by far more important hub of service.

Originally: World Travel Market - It’s the annual largest travel show in London. Having been there last week I should advise them to change the name to:

Walk - the milleage you walk there is unreal, I advised my partner to the trip to dump her high hills and move to Nike - she only took my advice on the second day…

Talk - the amount of Bla Bla you hear is enormous - everyone wants to sell you something.

Money - Everyone wants to make money, close a deal, bring tourists. The Travel business is a perishable market; a room at the hotel cannot be stored to be sold tomorrow, nor can a seat on a flight etc. It’s very much like the Fish Industry = if you don’t sell you smell…

Therefore, you find yourself walking & talking all day long about how to make money in the travel business.

More than ever, I enjoyed South America booth and Iran. South America was very happy, colorful and in motion; which attracted many visitors to their stands - look at the photos bellow.

Being an Israeli the visit to Iran booth was special, I was invited by the Azadi International Tourism Organization to have tea with Mr. Mahmood Karimi and discuss world travel issues.

Did he gave me his card so i will not forget his face?

I flew out of Stansted Airport a couple of days ago; quite an experience; I assume its due to the crowd - the Low Cost Airlines Travelers. 
At the current situation everyone wants to cut costs, I just wonder at what price. In my humble opinion as long as passengers’ safety is not on the line all means are acceptable.

If you look at the photos you would be able to see that all the airlines; EasyJet, Air Berlin, Ryanair, Thomson; all connect to the Air Sleeve Terminal for passengers to be able to board and off board safely. However, you will see the; “take a walk on the tarmac” style of German-Wings Airlines who are saving money by not paying for such services to Stansted Airport.

Why use the old style AirStair when the airport is equipped with top of the range Jetways, afterall, Stansted Airport is a well equipped, designed and functions like a Low Cost Airline hub.

A new UK based airline has opened by a private group of investors.

“Air Sylhet customers will always be treated with respect, due care and consideration and be offered a pleasant flight experience”

Having said, that there is great concern in the security community regarding the whole concept of a Muslim Only Airline; Air Sylhet.

Is it a pure tourism concept or a new terrorism highway between the British Muslim community and the Arab World?

How will they check who is a Muslim? I hope its a joke and we can all enjoy the airline service.

BTW: Sylhet, also known as Shilhat in the ancient times, was an expanded commercial center in Bangladesh

According to the latest USA Visa Weaver Program the following passport holders will be granted electronic US entry permit, thus, will avoid the long queue and interviews to receive a US entry visa.The online application must be done at least 72 hours prior to entry into the United States of America. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

Then, who is so lucky to avoid the hassle of getting a visa? Andorra; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brunei; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; ; Japan; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Monaco; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Portugal; Sun Marino; Singapore; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom.

I actually read a cool post by Tony Wheeler (founder of Lonely Planet) comparing embassies attitude between encouraging and discouraging tourists through their visa departments.

Those are the moments I wish I had more than one nationality.

Driving in a foreign country can be deadly, and not because the drivers are crazy, its simply because you are not aware of the local driving norms.

Driving is totally different from sexual behavior where in most cases everybody in the world knows what you mean :)

Examples;

1) When you flash your car’s headlights:

a. In The UK it means; “Go ahead, I give you way”.

b. In Italy: “Be careful I am coming fast and I am in no real wish for you to enter my space”.

c. In Israel; “Be careful there is a police radar nearby…”

2) Driving in a roundabout is always confusing, but in France its crazy, it’s a real suicide…

I have driven in many places, and everywhere when you are in the roundabout you keep driving; i.e. you have the right to move on; main idea behind it; clear the roundabout.

In France - be careful, the cars who want to enter the roundabout have the right to drive in; and in high speed… which means you block the roundabout as you stop in the middle.

3) Hand signals; in Israel if you wave you hand in a unusual manner, closing your fingers together upwards - means please wait, give me a minute, “savlanut” i.e. patience, I need time to do what I want to do; whereas in Italy it means cursing your mother…

Take it easy out there, be smart not right.

Sometimes when you hear “travel experts” talk you wish you learned Swahili in school; as they seem to be using creepy and bizarre words which don’t inter relate nor resemble anything you learned in school - nor university. (Unless you served in the Army:)

In order not to get wrong names or booking references they spell out the words using the first letters of a set of worldwide key words.

Let me enlighten you; and trust me - most travel “experts” are not using the right words anyhow…

A = Alfa B = Bravo C = Charlie D = Delta E = Echo F = Foxtrot G = Golf H = Hotel I = India J = Juliet K = Kilo L = Lima M = Mike N = November O = Oscar P = Papa Q = Quebec R = Romeo S = Sierra T = Tango U = Uniform V = Victor W = Whiskey X = X-ray Y = Yankee Z = Zulu

” Golf Oscar Oscar Delta - Lima Uniform Charlie Kilo” (good luck you idiots…)

As Israelis we always ask ourselves; is this route a safe route to fly? what happens in case of emergency landing?

Well, I dont have the answers to what may happen in case you land on the lap of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad… though as a professional travel agent I could reccomend you which airlines are safer in respect to their routes flying via Europe to Asia.

Please note, that my advise has nothing to do with the safety of the aircraft, nor last minute and Force Majeure cases where airlines must change their routes.

* KLM & Air France are the ones mostly known for last minute changes of routes and they are NOT obliged to advise in advance.

Have a safe and easy flight:

NOT SAFE = Above Arab Countries

I was walking in the small pretty streets of San Gimignano in Italy, allowing my almost 3 years old son, Dan, to use my camera.

After a while I realized the little man whom I gave my camera to was talking specific pictures; he has noticed that the doors to the houses and shops of San Gimignano were not the same; i.e. each door was different, and he took pictures of the doors !!!

It has amazed me what children observe, ofcourse it made me take almost 100 pictures of different doors around the small city - amazing experience.

These are only a sample of the 1000 doors of San Gimignano…

This time they have acquired OneTime.com & VirtualTourist.com (same ownership).

Its the 3rd purchase by TripAdvisor of Travel content websites in the past 12 months, latest was the European Holiday Watch Dog.

TripAdvisor-branded sites are; bookingbuddy, cruisecritic, independenttraveler, seatguru, smartertravel, travel-library, travelpod.

“TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors, seven million+ registered members and 15 million+ reviews and opinions”

Who’s next?

You all travel extensively, and sometimes things go wrong;

· Your luggage was lost
· The hotel room stinks, dirty, small,
· The flight is overbooked
· Flight is cancelled.
· Avis / Hertz charged you a crazy price for fuel although tank was full,
· Things were stolen from your luggage,
· The booking you made on Expedia / Travelocity/ Orbitz / Priceline was never found
· Poor Customer Service.
· More… 

When things go wrong all you want to do is complain; Menogo will make sure you are heard!

Come share it on Menogo, the Travel Complain System, where you can write about your bad travel experience and on the other hand give advice and alternatives.
Menogo gives the opportunity to Travel Suppliers to Officially Respond to your claims; Hotels, Airlines, Cruise, Car rental, Online Booking Sites, Travel Insurance, Travel Gear, and more.
We hope you find this free service very useful as many others did during the closed Beta phase.

We will be happy to get your feedback, happier to see you posting a Nogo… (even if its past experience)

We truly believe that your critique will make a change; and travel will be a better experience for us all.

www.MeNoGo.com

What can I say? I was walking with my family on Saturday morning on the beach of Tel Aviv, looking for a cool place for a “shabes” morning coffee.

We wanted to walk into the well known place; Shalvata, having looked at the sign I thought twice of the place, it has to respect its visitors in order to be respected.

Shalvata - them Hebrew meaning is total relaxation, and guess what the sign at the entrance says; No entry with drugs and weapons!

Some kind of relaxation this place is…

How much does it cost you to use your millage for a “free” ticket?

It has become unreal; the airlines have found a new way to stop their most valuable clients; i.e. the frequent flyer members, from making use of their accumulated miles / points.

Previously, the airlines have adopted the “Black Out Period”, high season and public holidays and whenever the airline just think they can get more $ on a seat, they would just say; it’s a black out period.

Now days, they have found an improved way… allow the use of miles; though, mostly, on double miles; and charge Airport Taxes + Fuel charges.

Taking an example of a few airlines flying out of Tel Aviv, Israel and the $ you would have to pay for an economy class round trip:

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the fact that Continental Airlines & Delta still respect their clients and take upon themselves the fuel charges, after all the client flew with them “quite” a lot to reach the state where he/ she can issue a bonus ticket. Having said that, finding a bonus ticket on regular miles with Continental is likely to happen, you will have to issue on “One Pass” which is 150% on miles or double miles ; better than nothing :)

My advice would be; accumulate points as much as possible and utilize them on a bonus business class ticket.  Moreover, try to use points from credit card and transfer to airlines who respect that (ELAL has a great value of transaction)

Its not funny, you can find tickets from Europe to USA travelling via London Heathrow starting at 340 Euro but taxes and fuel are an extra 400-500 Euro, who are they kidding?

Is this the future of travel?

I have backpacked for many years, and hoping to do so many more years to come.

Trekking is a great experience, I trekked Everest Base Camp & Kala Patar 4 times (5545 m), India Northern part many more, and even reached Mt Kilimanjaro Auhuru Peak (5895m) a couple of years ago.

Being an Israeli soldier I walked up to Jerusalem as part of the Oath of Allegiance ceremony. But I have never thought of backpacking and trekking up the amazing trail of Jerusalem, I bet it’s an amazing super psychological feeling, no matter which religion you are from; it’s like back in the old days.

During my visit to Latrun last week, en route Jerusalem, my eye has caught this cool, nonchalant new way of trekking - the semi new and semi old style of walking up to Jerusalem - the donkey style…

May more come and join the route, connecting to their roots.

Israel 60 years of Independence & Jerusalem 40 years of Unification ;

I have spent the day in the Old City of Jerusalem, working with the Pacific Princess Cruise shore excursion department, operated by Patra Travel Israel.

Words cannot express the beauty of the city of Jerusalem; it’s the 60 years to Israel’s independence & 40 years celebrations of unification of city of Jerusalem. The flags, the colors, the 3500 honored guests of President Shimon Peres and the world leaders among them President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, all attending the Conference: “Facing Tomorrow”.

I was lucky to bring with me a small tiny camera and capture amazing moments;

The Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the burial place of Jesus), and an amazing guide Mr Tzachi, who guided a group of Patra into the Old City who brought with him a “Shofar”, acting the same way as the worldwide known; Rabbi Goren at the same place at the liberation and unification of Jerusalem in 1967; “Baruch ata Hashem, menachem tsion u-voneh Yerushalayim. [Translation: Blessed are thou, who comforts Zion and builds Jerusalem]”

I am proud of Mr Tzachi ! He represents the values I was raised on.

Traveling in and out from the USA is becoming unbearable, as travelers go through excessive security checks. The US TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has tightened the security measures to an extreme level, to such extent that travelers in many cases feel they are prisoners rather than tourists.

Basically it has become a nightmare to fly in or out of the USA. Travelers are subject to long queues of:

Cavity search, biometric data, full body pad-down, body screening, remove shows & belts, dog sniffing, computer hard drive swap and copy, and now the new regulation known as: “SSSS”, which is marked on your check in ticket randomly. However, random or not, all Middle East passport holders are automatically SSSS marked, though, TSA squad will put in plain words: “Random Check…” - it sounds more as racism and discrimination rather than random.

The new GE CTX 9000 DSi - Explosive Detection System will “Puff” air at you detecting explosive signs. Moreover, the new machine actually screens you totally.

I have not once heard a client say, it’s on the verge of invasion of privacy; they see my whole body naked.

I have come across the Ryanair website comment on security check ups; no words are needed; is this the future of airport security…

Not all travel is related to business or leisure; today is the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day, in Hebrew: “Yom HaShoah ve Hagvura” - Holocaust day and bravery. Lets all travel in time; in order not to forget how the Nazi Germany has murdered six million Jews in a systematic, state protected and state sponsored campaign of prosecution and extermination now known as: The Holocaust.

Let us all remember and never forget, not only what the Nazis have done, but also what the others did not do.

Learn more about the Holocaust: http://www.aish.com/holocaust/default.asp

Yad Vashem Museum Jerusalem; www.yadvashem.org

March of the Living; www.motl.org

You all have to watch the reality of the Jews in the 1940’s inorder not to forget, never forget!!!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2D74BED05A2C8596

You just checked into a luxuries hotel & spa, paying $620 a night, what does it entitle you?

Is it simply an overnight stay; check in & check out the next day?

Like in most hotels, and furthermore at the luxuries hotels, there are toiletries at your disposal in the bathroom, the question is; where is the borderline between reasonable use and theft?

Looking at it from the philosophical point of view; “Responsible Tourism”; is it responsible to take what we do not really need and cause unnecessary extra costs?

I just read a post on HotelChatter which I did not find amusing, and decided to share it with you:

“I just was doing some cleaning, and just piled all my soaps/etc.. from this year (yes 2007), and thought i’d take a picture, because I thought it was funny.. I usually take the shampoos and goodies so I don’t have to stock up on travel stuff throughout the year, but I didn’t realize I had this much from this year”

I also read on Sleeping Around a post about what is ethical to take and what is theft, personally I disagree, in my humble opinion it seems too liberal.

“Most hotels expect that you will take the soap. They plan on it. But there are other things that they expect you to take too, so except for the shower curtain, think about things that start with the letter “S.”

Soap, Shampoo, Shower gel, Shower cap, Sewing kit, Stationery, Shoe Shine Kits, Slippers. SLIPPERS??? Yes, slippers. Many really upscale hotels put terry-cloth slippers in your room, often with elaborate embroidery with the hotel’s name or crest across the instep. It’s branding. Every time you look down, you see the name or initials of the hotel; the hope is that it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, makes you remember your wonderful time there, and makes you plan on returning. “I wish more people would take the slippers,” says David Benton, Vice President and General Manager of the tony Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, a member of the Preferred Hotels group. “We hate having to throw them away. We can’t use them again; we WANT our guests to take them.

” WHEN IS IT “THEFT?”  So now we know what you CAN take without fear of arrest and incarceration. What is it that you can’t legitimately spirit away from the hotel? What is considered “theft?” Almost anything else.
No bathrobes, towels, sheets, pillows, pillowcases, bedspreads, ashtrays, glasses. No washcloths, drapes, desklamps, shower curtains, phone books, headboards or artwork. No throw pillows, bath rugs, room-service dishes, mattress pads or light fixtures. Not the glossy hardcover destination books that sit on the desk, although the weekly magazines are fine”.

Next time you travel, take a moment; ask yourself the question, do I support eco-tourism when I travel? Am I responsible to the environment?

Ask yourself; “What can I do to make the world a better place”.

Personally, I try not to waste, I use only what I need.

Lately, travel agents have been receiving more and more fraud emails requesting business class and first class tickets on specific routes; starting in; Nigeria - Lagos.

The process is as follows; the so called Nigerian Travel Agent requests assistance to book his VIP clients flights and hotels. Once the travel agency (outside Nigeria) books it all, he is given a stolen credit card which is not yet reported to the authorities.

Thus, the agent who is being conned is not yet aware of the fact that has just lost a few thousands of Dollars.

The Nigerians who have given a fake UK address including a non existing UK mobile number, a free web based email are long gone.

The Nigerians, in order to conceal their tracks, and perfect their crime, they manage to change names on the air tickets through contacts they have at the local airline branch. They then resell the ticket to anyone who is willing to pay them in cash.

Not until that long ago, travel agents had a way to protect themselves from such actions; they used the given credit card as a means to pay the airline directly. Rather than what is accustomed; client pay agent, agent pays airline. Now days, due to fraud levels, the airlines hold the agents accountable for any fraud done by the travelers.

Beware - work with who you know and trust.