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Alice Heritage wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 06:10 This brought back memories from before airline travel changed out of all recognition - not least the ways of booking tickets!
I appreciated your analysis and the details you mentioned, about the repetitions, for example. I liked your clear writing style with the short paragraphs too.

Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2023, 02:09 [Following is a volunteer review of "Involuntary Reroute" by Robert Laney.]

An involuntary reroute is when an airline changes a passenger’s flight after issuing the ticket. This change usually creates complications for the traveler, like arriving much later than planned or to a different location.

In Robert Laney’s book Involuntary Reroute, he takes us on his own tumultuous journey navigating the waters as a travel agent. Along the way, he learned how to take advantage of loopholes in the airline rules to help his colleagues travel in first class for less than economy passengers were paying.

While current and former travel agents will get the biggest takeaway from the book, anyone interested in how airlines and agencies operate will enjoy this, too.

Cara Wilding wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 17:33
Stephen, I travel so much; this sounds like it would be such a great book for me! I love the idea of traveling in first class for less than the price of economy...how true is this (at least today)? It almost seems too good to be true Was this the secret code? I can't count how many times I have been involuntarily rerouted, and it has cost me hotel fees, extra food expenses, and lost time! All with zero compensation. It doesn't quite seem right! Perhaps this book addresses some of that as well? I enjoyed reading your review. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this one with us! Until next time...

Tomy Chandrafrost wrote: ↑29 Apr 2024, 04:10 If I didn't read the book category description, I would have thought this was some kind of fiction book with a little action. It's interesting to learn about the experiences behind the scenes of a flight travel agent at that time. This review is intriguing, making me even more eager to read this book. Thank you for writing this review.

Harshitha Nayak wrote: ↑01 Jun 2024, 01:32 This book gave me insight about discounts, how ticketing system work before internet captured whole travel Agency system. Stupidly i believed, all these discounts offers existed only from past 3 decades but it goes long back. This is the power of book helps to know things happened before and how it evolved with time.

Stephen Christopher 1 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2023, 02:09 [Following is a volunteer review of "Involuntary Reroute" by Robert Laney.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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An involuntary reroute is when an airline changes a passenger’s flight after issuing the ticket. This change usually creates complications for the traveler, like arriving much later than planned or to a different location.

In Robert Laney’s book Involuntary Reroute, he takes us on his own tumultuous journey navigating the waters as a travel agent. Along the way, he learned how to take advantage of loopholes in the airline rules to help his colleagues travel in first class for less than economy passengers were paying.

Due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that he signed years ago, he has been unable to tell the story until now.

Involuntary Reroute takes the reader back to the glory days of the travel industry (the 1980s and 1990s), before the internet and before September 11, 2000 changed travel for everyone.

Back then — it’s rarely used today — there was a travel agent code called AD75. This harmless-looking code means deducting 75% off the price and paying the balance.

This offer was introduced to encourage travel agents to experience the airline product at a discounted rate so they could feel more confident selling it. The use of the code was rarely policed by the airlines back then, and Laney found a way to offer it to his colleagues by making them ‘owners’ (on paper).

How long did they get away with it? Did they ever get caught? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

The book is a memoir of how a 19-year-old and his mother opened one travel agent after another to keep ahead of policy changes and bad business partners. The ups and downs of the industry would make any reader wonder why they bothered.

As a former travel agent, I loved this book. I was taken back to my own agency days with the mention of jargon like MCO and ADM. Don’t worry; he explains what they mean for those not in the industry.

The book kept me hooked, and I binge-read it in one day. At 144 pages, that wasn’t a mammoth task anyway.

The only downside of the book for me was the repetition of the AD75 program. As it’s explained in detail at the start, I didn’t feel it was necessary to keep referring to what it means or stands for. I also noticed the repetition of ‘unsold seats are worth zero’ a few times.

The book could do with one more round of editing; I picked up four errors in total. But they didn’t take away my enjoyment from the book, nor did the slight repetition, so this one scores a 5 out of 5 stars for me.

While current and former travel agents will get the biggest takeaway from the book, anyone interested in how airlines and agencies operate will enjoy this, too.

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Involuntary Reroute
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Anaïs Quesson wrote: ↑05 Oct 2024, 09:22 I am currently reading this review while sitting and waiting at the airport after my cancelled flight, waiting for another one. The title feels spot on, lol. It sounds like an interesting memoir, I'd like to know more about what it's like being a travel agent.

Gerry Steen wrote: ↑05 Oct 2024, 19:20 It must be a good book, and the facts must be accurate if you, a former travel agent, loved the book. I don't know much about the travel industry, but I would like to know more. According to your review, this is the book for me.