ARC's proposal to
increase the annual per-location fee paid by agencies has taken a
step forward as the Fees and Charges Working Group, according to
ARC, signed off on the proposal Tuesday without recommending
approval.
However, ASTA, a
member of the group, said "the agency vote was unanimous (one
abstention) in opposition" to the proposal. Nevertheless, under
ARC's governance procedures, the proposal will now go before the
ARC Joint Advisory Board-Agent Reporting Agreement, which is slated
to meet on Oct. 18 to determine whether or not to approve the
proposal.
Under the proposal,
the annual administrative fee of $145 per agency location would
increase to $395 per location for independent or home-office
locations. The proposal also calls for a $150-per-year charge for
branches and satellite ticket printer locations.
Transaction fees,
meanwhile, would increase to 2 cents per transaction for branches
and STPs, compared to 1.7 cents. The current 1,000-transaction
floor would remain in place; however the transaction ceiling would
increase from 1.5 million to 1.875 million.
Additionally, ARC
has proposed eliminating or reducing fees related to training and
accreditation status.
Overall, ARC said
the proposal is part of a long-term effort to shift more of ARC's
operating costs onto agencies. Currently, airlines pay 90% of the
costs. However, ARC said it has "targeted a 30% agency share over a
period of time but no in-depth discussions have occurred around a
proposed plan past 2008."
The fee proposal,
first announced on Sept. 10, constitutes ARC's first major fee
restructuring in seven years.
The proposal has
drawn fire from ASTA, which criticized the need for shifting the
costs and the fee increase. ASTA estimated that some agencies will
see their per-location fees jump 172%.
To
contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].