Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks

What the job really is

Make and confirm reservations for transportation or lodging, or sell transportation tickets. May check baggage and direct passengers to designated concourse, pier, or track; deliver tickets and contact individuals and groups to inform them of package tours; or provide tourists with travel or transportation information.

At a glance

• Sector: Office & Administrative
• O*NET-SOC code: 43-4181
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Examine passenger documentation to determine destinations and to assign boarding passes.
• Trace lost, delayed, or misdirected baggage for customers.
• Check baggage and cargo and direct passengers to designated locations for loading.
• Provide boarding or disembarking assistance to passengers needing special assistance.
• Confer with customers to determine their service requirements and travel preferences.
• Announce arrival and departure information, using public address systems.
• Determine whether space is available on travel dates requested by customers, assigning requested spaces when available.
• Assemble and issue required documentation, such as tickets, travel insurance policies, or itineraries.
• Maintain computerized inventories of available passenger space and provide information on space reserved or available.
• Inform clients of essential travel information, such as travel times, transportation connections, or medical and visa requirements.
• Answer inquiries regarding information, such as schedules, accommodations, procedures, or policies.
• Plan routes, itineraries, and accommodation details, and compute fares and fees, using schedules, rate books, and computers.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Airline ticket printers, Amadeus Altea Reservation, Cash registers, Computer reservation system CRS software, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, Credit card processing machines

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Travel Agents
• Flight Attendants
• Passenger Attendants
• Baggage Porters and Bellhops
• Counter and Rental Clerks
• Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
• Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.