Bottom Line: A Cheap Fare and a Good Complaint Desk

We get all kinds of letters, calls and e-mails here, from accounts of troubled Panama Canal cruises to pitches for voodoo tours of Benin, Africa. But the most frequently asked reader questions during any given year seem to boil down to the same handful of subjects: airline ticket consolidators; air courier companies; home-exchange arrangements; and whom to complain to about trips gone wrong.

This week’s column gathers facts and phone numbers from columns on those popular topics--a sort of one-stop consumer help-line list. (Note: The companies listed below are a sampling and not a complete list, and inclusion or exclusion does not necessarily constitute endorsement or disapproval.)

Airline ticket consolidators: Consolidators are companies that buy airline tickets in large volumes (some of them carrying more restrictions or fewer privileges than traditional tickets) from airlines, then resell them at cut rates to the public. Consolidators often also sell package tours and charter flights, concentrating on budget-conscious travelers. Tickets are usually for international flights. Some consolidator tickets carry no frequent-flier mileage. Always comparison shop. And beware of consolidators who won’t take credit cards; that makes buying tickets a far less secure transaction.

* All Continents Travel, Los Angeles, telephone (310) 337-1641.

* Cheap Tickets, based in Honolulu with offices in Westchester and Fullerton, tel. (800) 247-7587, (310) 645-5054 or (818) 765-3395.

* Continental Travel Shop, Santa Monica, tel. (310) 453-8655 .

* Council Travel, offices in L.A. and Long Beach, among other locations, tel. (310) 208-3551 or (310) 598-3338 .

* STA Travel, based in London with three L.A.-area offices, tel. (800) 777-0112 or (213) 934-8722 or (310) 824-1574.

* World Link Travel Network, offices in L.A. and Santa Monica, tel. (310) 342-1280 or (310) 453-8884.

Air courier companies: They typically sell cheap air tickets to solo travelers bound for foreign countries. Courier travelers often travel on short notice to get the best prices, bring only as much luggage as they can carry on the plane, and sign papers allowing a shipping company to use their allotted baggage space rather than paying more costly air freight fees. Companies listed here handle departures from Los Angeles.

* East-West Express, Jamaica, N.Y., tel. (718) 656-6246.

* Film Freight International, Los Angeles, tel. (310) 568-8403.

* Halbart Express, Los Angeles, tel. (310) 417-3048.

* International Bonded Couriers (also known as IBC Pacific), El Segundo, tel. (310) 607-0125.

* Jupiter Air, Inglewood, tel. (310) 670-1197 or (310) 670-1198.

* Virgin Express, Jamaica, N.Y., tel. (718) 244-7244.

Home-exchange organizations: Most of these outfits charge annual fees of $30 to $80 in exchange for listing your home for possible exchange in a newsletter, directory or on a Web site.

* Home Exchange Network (Web site: www.homexchange.com), Longwood, Fla., tel. (407) 862-7211.

* Intervac U.S., San Francisco, tel. (800) 756-4663 or (415) 435-3497, fax (415) 435-7440.

* The Invented City, San Francisco, tel. (800) 788-2489.

* Teacher Swap, Oakdale, N.Y., tel. (516) 244-2845.

* Trading Homes International, Hermosa Beach, tel. (800) 877-8723.

* Vacation Exchange Club, Key West, Fla., tel. (800) 638-3841.

Where to complain: First, write to the company that made you unhappy and keep a copy of your letter and the reply. If you’re still unsatisfied, these organizations accept complaints in writing. Of the groups below, ASTA and USTOA are trade groups that generally take complaints only about member companies. The state attorney general’s office focuses on companies that do business in California, and the federal Department of Transportation tracks complaints on airlines.

* American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Consumer Affairs Department, 1101 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Consumer line: tel. (703) 706-0387.

* U.S. Tour Operators Assn., 211 E. 51st St., NY, NY 10022, tel. (212) 750-7371.

* Better Business Bureau, Los Angeles Chapter, 3727 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90020, tel. (213) 251-9696.

* California Attorney General’s Office, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550; tel. (800) 952-5225.

* U.S. Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75, Washington, DC 20590; tel. (202) 366-2220.

Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper’s expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.