Realising that I had left booking tickets to Dubai for Easter a bit late, I turned, in desparation to STA Travel. Who better than the travel agency geared specifically to students to help me get to my destination, if not in style then at least with some cash in my pocket... or so I thought!
Disclaimer!!
First ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Splendia, a unique selection of luxury and design hotels with character in the most beautiful locations: Marrakesh, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Dubai.... Book directly online or contact our customer service available any day of the week.
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
...I turned, in desparation to STA Travel. Who better than the travel agency geared specifically to students to help me get to my destination, if not in style then at least with some cash in my pocket... or so I thought!
Disclaimer!!
First thing's first I want to make clear that the staff were friendly and they did try and help. I also want to point out that I have only tried to use STA once. Just because things didn't work out ... ...I went into my nearest STA branch full of confidence. A friend had whole-heartedly recommended them and it was the recommendation of a friend I knew I could trust. I sat down in front of a very happy face and gave it my dates and departure airports (both of which were flexible). I also made it clear that I was concerned with finding the cheapest flight available - I knew I wasn't going to be travelling with Emirates so if it had to be Aeroflot or ... more
Realising that I had left booking tickets to Dubai for Easter a bit late, I turned, in desparation to STA Travel. Who better than the travel agency geared specifically to students to help me get to my destination, if not in style then at least with some cash in my pocket... or so I thought!
Disclaimer!! First thing's first I want to make clear that the staff were friendly and they did try and help. I also want to point out that I have only tried to use STA once. Just because things didn't work out for me doesn't mean they won't for you. I think that they might well get more popular destinations such as Australia or the US right.
Anyway...
I went into my nearest STA branch full of confidence. A friend had whole-heartedly recommended them and it was the recommendation of a friend I knew I could trust. I sat down in front of a very happy face and gave it my dates and departure airports (both of which were flexible). I also made it clear that I was concerned with finding the cheapest flight available - I knew I wasn't going to be travelling with Emirates so if it had to be Aeroflot or something along those lines well then... some things in life you just have to put up with! I let the agent know that the cheapest flight I had found to date was a flight for 400 pounds including tax. Sitting there at that desk I started to get slightly concerned when, about 15 minutes down the line I started hearing, "hmm's" and, "wait, let me try this instead's". After half an hour had elapsed the agent informed me that not only was the best price she had found 410 pounds, but that I would also need a ISIC (International Student Identity Card) in order to be eligible for the fare. To top it all off, the ISIC was going to set me back a further 7 pounds. Talk about adding insult to injury. Although I had already formed my opinion (and let's just say it wasn't exactly favourable), I politely thanked the agent, asked if I could think about it for a day or two because after all it was an expensive fare and I am only a student. Of course! That's fine! Here's a printout of the itinerary and here's my number just give me a call sometime tomorrow! And with that I was gone... out of there just as quick as you can say, "how can STA get it so wrong."
Miserable at the fact that things hadn't worked out, I sat my dejected self down in front of the computer that night with a challenge. The agent had taken half an hour to give me a fare that was more expensive than the one I had gone in with. Surely I could beat that. So I set off on my journey, a journey that was to take me past the websites of countless airlines until I reached expedia.co.uk where after about 10 minutes of tweaking, I hit the jackpot:
Edinburgh-London then London-Vienna then Vienna-Dubai all for a grand total of....
Wait for it...
304 pounds and 50 pence!
Yes the route is convoluted. Yes flying from London with a stop over in Austria isn't as convenient as a direct flight from Edinburgh. But I don't care - and what's more, neither would many students.
It goes without saying that I snapped up the tickets right there and then, paying for the whole lot online with my credit card. So STA lost REAL custom. And why? Because I didn't just trust them. I didn't just take their word as truth. I checked for myself and beat their price in half the time. And ultimately I found myself asking (and I have been asking myself ever since): What exactly does the STA provide? It takes longer and it's more expensive - all it seems to be is smiling faces.
I wrote to STA about my experience. No response so far. Perhaps things vary between branches; between agents. Perhaps not.
Advantages: Cheap for students Disadvantages: Poor service when things go wrong
STA travel in Oxford seems to be the place to go if you want cheap tickets. It is always packed with people queing up, wainting to be served.
I was going to a conference in New Orleans and was told to book my flight there. I had to wait a while, but the person who served me was very helpful and appeared to know exactly what I needed. He even told me the name of the airport that I needed to go to - St Louis airport. I had taken all the details of ... ...I arrived I couldn't contact STA travel, which was not their fault. There were no planes from St Louis to New Orleans, so I went the long way, by minibus and train. There were many very friendly and helpful people in St Louis, including a group of ice-hockey fans to whom I am forever indebted, if you read this.
I arrived in New Orleans about 24 hours later than I had intended, but in time for the conference. I was unable to directly alter my return ...
newc0597 06.05.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of STA Travel
Advantages: All the benefits of STA (good prices, well-travelled and helpful staff etc) combined with no queues, you can take your time Disadvantages: You might not get an expert in the region you're travelling to; some innacuracies in their information system?
...has all the benefits of STA -- but without the queues. What more could you possibly ask for?
For directions, I've described how to get there (it's on the Queen Mary and Westfield University campus - but you don't need to be a student there, or anywhere) at the bottom of this review.
To explain for those that don't already know, STA is a travel agency for people aged 26 or under - the idea is that you get discount prices for flights around the world ... ...a short weekend holiday, then STA is probably not the best place to go as there will be some better deals for that sort of thing if you go through a company such as EasyJet. It struck me that STA's forte is in the longer trip - both in terms of time and in terms of distance. This makes it the ideal place to go if you're a student looking to take a year out and do some travelling.
They offer all the usual options for flights right the way from simple ...
nikeair 24.01.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of STA Travel
Advantages: Cheap, Very flexible, always available Disadvantages: Cheap prices mainly apply to 25 and under
...I first foud out about STA travel I was well weary of there "alleged" cheap prices. Much to my surprise they tend to run at least 100 pounds or so cheaper than anywhere else, I've flown back and forth from the states several times for probablly the price moset pay for one round trip. They have lot's of offices and very easy to use. Most of the time the flights are available, and they always work around you're schedule. It's quick easy and the rep's ... ...available for backpacking round eurpoe/america/south america/asia and pretty much anywhere else. great for youths looking to travel round the world and pay student prices. The travel industry now-a-days is really competitive, but this place far out ranks any place I've ever been with or seen for that matter. You can't beat them, unless you go lastminute (lastminute.com) but for arranged holidays, they're far superior than every other competitor. ...
phish_phan23 24.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of STA Travel
Advantages: face to face staff are extremely helpful. i couldnt ask for better. Disadvantages: telesales staff are rude and very unhelpful. also you cant report them as they cant be traced.
I felt that STA travel went out of their way to help you get a ticket for the right price. I found them friendly and symathetic to your situation and genuinly concerned if you had a problem.
I was constantly in the store changing my ticket dates or cancelling tickets. Also, they have the best prices as for a student it is a 3rd off air fare. However I have had problems with the telesales staff. i find them very rude and patronizing. They pressure ... ...stranded in america as the STA travel staff had phoned her at her home to tell her the news (while she was in america), she had phoned the telesales staff and the man started yelling abuse at her and calling her stupid. When she asked for his name to report him he gave her a fake one. When she questioned him about his name he just mimicked what she was saying, laughed down the phone then hung up on her.
GREAT SERVICE!!!!!
so, i think if you do ...
bluntandbrief 05.01.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of STA Travel
Advantages: cheaper price Disadvantages: bad service and confusion
...would actually go into an STA travel office and talk to an agent since all I wanted was a cheap ticket, my dates and airports were flexible etc. Well, while on a trip to Boston (they have only 1 office in all of New York state) I stopped in an STA office. I told the travel agent my requirements and waited. She was, of course, very nice, no complaints there. Once she was done on her computer she said the cheapest ticket she could find was $815!!! ... ...leave. I plan to call STA several more times and write to them about this.
So basically I didn't have a good experience with STA at all but I did give them an extra star because with the ID card expense I still got a ticket to London that was cheaper than the cheapest ticket elsewhere. If you want a cheap ticket be ready for some inconveniences and lots of phone calls. ...
Goblinina 08.06.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of STA Travel
Value for Money
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "STA Travel"
Advantages: cheap and cheerful Disadvantages: small rooms
I have stayed at this place twice and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive place to stay in New York- and let's face it there's not many.
I booked this first through STAtravel who messed it up- so do it independently.
The cheapest rooms are small and have bunkbeds, tv, air conditioning and shared bathrooms but there are also suites available. The staff are friendly and there are lots of on site facilities such as a gym, swimming pool and a cateteria with decent food. The rooms are cleaned everyday and the place is very well kept. There are always people around to give directions and recommendations and you can book trips to places such as Washington, Boston and Niagara Falls.
The best thing about the YMCA Vanderbilt is the location. At East 47th street between second and third avenue it is in a fairly quiet ...
Advantages: Good Service, good price Disadvantages: Specialise in under-26 independent travel
TravelCuts is the Canadian Universities Travel Service, although Canadian they operate in the UK, have a shop in London, a website (travelcuts.co.uk) and a phone booking service. I have found them to be of consistently good value and always a good few quid cheaper than
STATravel for the same flights. As with STA they specialise in student and young travel and many tickets require an ISIC card (that proves you are under 26). If you're thinking of getting a flight through STA, I can recommend checking out these fellas first for a better deal. ...
Luke-whittam 19.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of TravelCuts
Advantages: A great city with lots to see and do! Disadvantages: Too much snow!
Hello everyone, I have just been to New York for 12 days and I had a fab time! I really want to hare my experience with you so here goes:
Flight: 11am Heathrow, arrive: New York 1.45pm! Just in time for lunch! (Flights really cheap £200 return with STATravel!)
www.STATravel.com
First stop was Ground Zero, as sad as it is; it is hard to avoid the huge gap in front of you as you enter the Financial District. I went and paid my respects to those whose lives were taken on that day.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: We took a boat to the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a bargain on the circle line tour at only 10$.Unfortunately you are unable to climb Liberty any more, but you do get a chance to walk around Liberty Island and get a closer view! Next stop Ellis Island, we went into the museum and found out about what ...
LIZKEMPO 03.03.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of New York City
