ASTA President Chris Russo says the CEOs of American Airlines and Delta simply don’t understand customer dynamics when they speak of requiring agents to someday pay for the right to sell airline tickets.
The effect presumably would drive more customers to airline websites. However, Russo said, his customers don’t envision a world without middlemen.
In an open letter, Russo wrote that customers "don't call me looking for an airplane seat. They call me to help them plan their vacation. They call me because they have a last-minute business meeting in London. They call because they want me to plan their family reunion next summer or because they have a funeral to attend.
"They call me for my assistance, for my expertise and for the value I provide them, and they are willing to pay for my services. They know they can go online and find the price of everything. I sell them on the value of everything."
Russo said travel agencies are "where America shops for travel."
Betsy Sell, AAA’s managing director of travel products, wondered if the airline CEOs were just floating an idea "to see if it has legs."
If such a plan were implemented, agents would stop selling air, Sell said. "Carriers would be inundated, even with their websites in place. ... Perhaps that would smooth out over time.
"Let’s say it could work," she continued. "Ultimately, the passenger will pay."
Her overall assessment: The carriers are "nuts."
Gloria Bohan, CEO of Omega World Travel in Fairfax, Va., agreed that costs would be passed on to clients.
She is also concerned that the airlines will hatch a plan to foist credit card merchant fees onto agents.
Bohan added, "We are strangled by dealing through ARC. Maybe we should look at more direct-reporting deals. Now we have the technology, so maybe we need to look at new things."
