I am a university student studying veterinary medicine in the UK.
I am a university student studying veterinary medicine in the UK.
Member since:30.09.2004
Reviews:7
Members who trust:5
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.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
dont give up totally on them, their advice on round the world travel is really helpful and even if you dont go with them in the end, its still helpful to talk to them to get some good plans and ideas good review though, glad you put good and bad points about them.
AnitaM 17.03.2005 09:36
I'm too old to use these anyway!
KittyV 16.03.2005 16:59
I've used them before and found them brilliant for Round the world tickets and tours. Maybe you didn't make it clear that you didn't mind flying about a bit! And I have an ISIC card and for £7 they're great value, you get loads of discounts.
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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?
nikeair 24.01.2001 ·
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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.
bluntandbrief 05.01.2001 ·
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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?
nikeair 24.01.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of STA Travel
Feb 28th, 2005
very helpful by (100%):
