European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Playa de Las americas Beach in Tenerife is a frequent destination for last minute travellers. S4s Kevin Dougherty a ridiculously a. A amps Kevin Dougherty Dragana Nessanovic an agent at an office at the Frankfurt Airport books a trip Over the Telephone. The following is a list of some of the leading German based travel agencies that offer last minute air fares and vacation packages at airports. Also included is Fligh bookers the Only Agency that operates from a London area Airport. A l tur has go agencies in Germany the Netherlands Austria Switzerland and France that offer discount travel. To Over 100 destinations no More than 14 Days in Advance. For general prerecorded information Call l tur at 0150-5658585. For prerecorded information on a current trips Call 0180-5272121. Both Are in German alone. To Book by Telephone Call 0190-575757. To Book by fax dial 07221 -2 7-9000. German and English speaking agents work from 8 . To 8 . Monday through Friday and from 10a.m. To 2 . On weekends. A oin Puter machine answers the Telephone after hours. Of when there is no available agent. Credit cards Are not accepted. Travellers give the agent their Bank account number and l tur withdraws the Money and sends the. Tickets a couple of Days later. A a its has More than 3,500 outlets in Germany. Trips can be booked a couple of months in Advance or up to the last minute. Tire company is More conventional i nature than la tur. For general information Call its s Central booking surf Fer at 02203-420. The reservation number is 02203-42120. The hours Are from 9 . To 6 . Monday through Friday and from 9 . To 1 . On saturday. For the be4 possible service it s advisable to cull during the week. Credit cards Are not accepted. Travellers Are Given an its Bank account number and asked to Deposit Money into that account. Keep tire receipt for proof of Purchase. The tickets Are then Mailer la the . I there is not enough time to mail tire tickets travellers must bring their receipt to the Airport of departure and pick up their tickets from an is agent. A first Reisaburo s discount travel has 28 discount offices in Germany including counter space at major airports such As Frankfurt and Stuttgart. It s a _ conventional travel Agency As Well. For general. A information on trips originating from Frankfurt Call 069600-29761 or 30721. For Stuttgart Call 0711-2113031 or 3030. The Telephone number for the corporate office in Dusseldorf is 021 1-366532. The company expects to have one main Telephone number later this year. Any audio recordings Are in German but some agents speak English. Most major credit cards such As american express visa and Mastercard Are accepted. A Nur touristic has offices in most German cities and. Airports. Away from the airports look for its subsidiary company Fortuna. For Genera information on discount trips leaving from the Frankfurt Airport Call 069-69071969. For the Stuttgart Airport Call 0711 -91-84846. For the Munich Airport Call 089-599135. Like its Nur s travellers Are Given a company account number that a person uses when they go to their neighbourhood German Bank to pay for their trip. Again be sure to keep the receipt because it s required to pick up tickets. Tickets for trips paid two weeks in Advance Are mailed. A Fligh bookers has an office in London and an office located at Gatwick Airport s South terminal. The Central booking number in London is 071 -75 7-2000 or 3000 fax is 2233. The Gal Wick office which deals specifically with Charters and discount travel can be reached at 0293-568300. Fligh bookers accepts most major credit cards As Well As Cash. A Kevin Dougherty continued from Page 3 an office on railway property. In Germany there Are no such regulations. Discount travel offices Are common at Many German airports including Frankfurt Hamburg Stuttgart and Munich. At Frankfurt International Airport for example there Are four primary companies last minute Urlaub or l tur Nur last minute Reisaburo s discount travel and International tourist  agencies buy up blocks of leftover slots from tour operators at Rock Bottom prices and then offer discount packages at rates that Are sometimes ridiculously cheap. For example its recently offered a one week trip to the Canary Island of Tenerife for 799 German Marks about $500the Price included one round trip air fare accommodations in a four Star hotel and half Board which included breakfast and dinner. Such bargains Are often posted just before the scheduled departure which does t leave much of a Chance to request and receive the necessary time off. In the Case of the above example the jaw dropping Price of 799 Marks Wras offered 24 hours before the jetliner rolled Down the runway. Quot a person who is flexible is the Best person for the last minute travel Quot said Karen Lohnert general sates manager for first management. ,. Discount packages Are usually More plentiful in the 1 Winter months Lohnert said of her company. This summer for example bargains Are harder to come by to warm weather destinations such As Greece Turkey and Cyprus. A the savings to customers who embark Down the discount route with first management Range from 20 percent to 35 percent Lohnert said. She estimates that 10 percent to 15 percent of the travel company s Overall sales Are generated by its discount operation. Quot we Don t organize these trips ourselves Quot she said. Quot most of the trips Are offered by. Tour operators we work  Lohnert recommends coming to her company s discount travel offices about four weeks in Advance. If there is a trip that appeals to you she recommends signing up for it rather than waiting for a couple of Days for the Price to drop. There is no telling she said How Long some trips will remain on the Board. When children Are invoked she suggests shopping around even earlier. But while first management views four weeks As last minute other tour companies push the envelope even further. The biggest on the Block is la tur. Quot this is the real last minute Quot travel Agency said Christopher Heimann of i tur s marketing department. Quot some companies offer trips four to six weeks 4 stripes Magazine june 3qf 1994