Facilities & Community is pleased to announce that KAUST has been recognized as a Best Corporate Partner by British Airways.
As a result of this award, KAUST staff and dependents are now eligible for priority booking and, from September 1, an additional 11% discount over and above our current corporate rate. This discount covers both business and personal travel in all classes.
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Does this have to be booked through Kanoo in order to take advantage of the discount or can you book online using a Corporate number?
Hi Susan,
In order to take advantage of the discount, all bookings must be made through our travel agency, Kanoo Travel.
Please advise how we can claim these benefits from British Airways if we book out flights online via their website?
Hi Paul,
Your booking must be arranged with our travel agency, Kanoo Travel, in order to avail the special discount.
I presume we can take advantage of this via Kanoo only?
Hi Adeem,
Yes, it has to be arranged through Kanoo Travel.
So, the savings that could be made with the corporate rate will be consumed by the higher costs charged by Kanoo! Online bookings with BA will continue to be the cheaper option in most cases.
Online rates are not recognized by most major companies to benchmark as these rates are basically cheaper because of the associated fare rules and conditions compared to rates being quoted by any travel agency.
Pretty useless if it can only be used through Kanoo as they gobble up any discount through their fee.
All travel agencies charged a certain service fee for every transaction the same with online booking. This is the only way a travel agency can generate an income. KAUST provided these special agreements for the community, it is their choice to utilize this agreement or arrange their booking online or with other agency.
In order to avail the special discount, arrange your flight booking with our Travel Office and mention the KAUST Corporate Agreement. It is not only with British Airways that we have a special discount, most of the major airlines have an exclusive agreement with KAUST, either business or personal travel. Just ask for this agreement with the Travel Agent when making your booking.
When I wanted to book tickets through kanoo I was always making sure to ask for SA or other airlines discounts, but there was always a reason for the travel agent to give me high rates and no discount! Not even mentioning the extra fee they charge for each booking. As a result, like many others, I always book online. I don’t see how kaustians benefit from any of these discounted rates, there’s no transparency…
Online bookings will always be cheaper compared to any travel agencies rates as certain seats and type of travel class are reserved for airline website and internet booking. These seats and travel classes have fare restriction and most cases are non-refundable but can be re-booked with certain fare difference and re-booking fees. It is your right to choose where to arrange your travel requirements, whether online or with other travel agency.
Is there any information on how Kanoo are planning to pass on this discount to private customers (if that is the case)? Such as if there is a KAUST discount of XX% – how much is 11% on top of the current corporate discount? – how much are Kanoo charging as a percentage, so people can actually see if the numbers work in their favour or not.
The discount is automatically generated by the travel reservation system, it determines which discount is applicable for every travel class booked. Kanoo has nothing to do with the percentage, they just book you as per your travel requirements. You can always ask if their service fee is included in their quotation/rates or if the discount has been applied.