Bokhara...They charge ticketing fees.My TA charges $30 per ticket.They do make commissions.Depending if they are a part of a large consortium---ABC, Carlson, etc etc they may have negotiated commissions to certain routings/destinations.They also usually get "override commissions".So an airline will set a revenue gola for them.If that goal is surpassed then they get a commission from the first dollar.But all of that is negotiated between the agency and the airline and every contract is different.They also get commissions on packages, like vacation packages with air/hotel/etc.I was talking to my TA last night and he had booked a family of 6 to the Caribbean over New Years for just under $19K and the agency will earn $2.5K commission.So it is not totally correct to say they do not earn commissions.I havent heard of any who do not charge fees.Hope this helps.

What BeachBoi says is particularly true for Asian fares - and this is a thread about CX. All airlines flying Pacific routes, including UA and NW, still sell a lot of tickets via a few large wholesalers. And travel agents specializing in Asian travel (mostly Asian-owned/run ones) can get fares from these wholesalers.

Sometimes you can get the same fare on united.com, for example, and sometimes not. And when you call up one of these agents, they'll simply tell you the total cost they'll charge you. One agent in Chinatown may quote you a few dollars more than a 2nd one. And some may be even willing to lose a few dollars if they want to get the rebate for matching specific goals that BeachBoi mentioned.

So, it's still a complex matter, and travel agents can still make money selling air tickets to Asia. However, the margin is very slim and it's nothing like the days before internet. Many of them now try to concentrate on hotel/air packages or escorted tours - with much higher margin.

Thanks BeachBoi & rkkwan. I guess there are differences in remuneration forms from country to country.

The point I was making was that, as the TA was assumedly being paid for making the booking, they ought do it properly, and promptly remedy any errors they make. After all, we all make mistakes; the difference is what we do about it. And how we go about it. (I'm going to be a bolshy old bird in my dotage .... come to think of it, what do I mean "going to be"?!) LOL :)

While this does not help, I find it interesting that it was a Chinese agency, since names in Chinese are often in different order than names in English, with last names first. That could explain the "difference of opinion" between you and travel agent.

How long does it normally take to reissue a ticket because of a name correction?

I went back to the Travel Agent and talked to them. They finally agreed to do the name change for a $25 Travel Agent fee. They gave me a receipt (says ticket reissue or revised on it) They said they are not sure how long it'll take but it'll take longer than a normal ticket would. They said they'd have to wait for a waiver from Cathay Pacific. What does this mean? Anyone know how long it should take? It's been 4 business days already. I will call the travel agency on Friday to see what's up. Just wondering if anyone can explain to me how reissuing the ticket works. She says it's the same flight and everything. The only thing that's being changed is the name.

TTT as this is incredibly absurd!!

The TA has the nerve to charge you $25 to fix their mistake. Absolutely incredible!! I assume, once you've taken this trip, you don't plan on ever using this TA again. . . . .

The original posting was 2005, but I guess the problem still exists. I did an on-line booking for myself and my wife, so no TA. When I contacted CX to use some frequent flier miles they pointed out that my wife's name had been entered in backwards. I contacted CX customer service and said it would cost me a $100 re-booking fee. I pointed out that my name was correct and her AsiaMiles number and name in the correct order was on the booking, but the only thing they would do for free is notify New York, Hong Kong and Bangkok that the name was backward, but did not guarantee I wouldn't have a problem. The crazy thing is when I go to the "Manage my Booking" on the CX web site, half the time her name is correct and mine is reversed, so they obviously don't have any consistency as to the order that the name is shown.

Hi!

Just wanted to check, I have a similar case but on my passenger name there is a missing letter on my middle name. The travel agency says that there is a limit in their system. Would I face an issue of not boarding the flight because of missing letter.

Beware of TRIPAIR.com, this is the site. They are charging me 86euro for name change, which I don't get since how can they make the change if the system does not allow or exceeds the number of characters.

Thanks in advance to those who will answer my question.