A ticket agent is a travel professional who sells tickets, provides passenger information, makes seat assignments, and checks in luggage. Ticket agents work in airports, bus stations, train stations, and major transit centers, and they are sometimes said to be working on the “front lines” for their employers, because they are the first people passengers interact with. Working as a ticket agent does not require any special educational qualifications, but it does require a very level temperament and the ability to work with diverse people, including people with language barriers or cognitive impairments which hamper communication.
Also known as travel clerks or gate agents, ticket agents sell tickets to passengers who do not yet have them, discussing travel plans with the passengers and selecting tickets with the most suitable itinerary. They may also make cancellations and changes by request, issuing refunds or collecting additional fees as needed. Ticket processing can also include tasks like selling standby seating and collecting funds for luggage which goes over the baggage allowance.
In addition to selling tickets, ticket agents also check in incoming passengers. Check-in may be as simple as examining a ticket to confirm that it is valid, and pointing a passenger in the right direction for boarding. It can also include verification of identity, checks of travel visas, and luggage handling, with the ticket agent taking luggage which will be checked, tagging it, and passing it on to luggage handlers.
Reservation sales agents are generally never seen by the traveling public and usually do not require a uniform. Sales centers are in operation 24 hours per day and thus offer a wide variety of work schedules. These positions may or may not be located near an airport, and most airlines have numerous centers located throughout the United States, and abroad.