Amtrak's commission cut could save the railroad approximately $13.8
million in the coming year, but Amtrak said it will commit part of
the savings toward making it easier for agents to sell rail travel
electronically. Oh sure, since Amtrak halved its basic commission
rate, agents want nothing more than an easier way to sell rail
travel.
Those behind the proposed Travel Agents Guild have, for the
moment, dropped plans to allow agency owners to be members but will
try to get them to increase employees' pay by 15 cents per hour to
pay for their union dues. Agency owners will likely to have
something to say about this, and the guild, as well as
front-liners, likely will retort. As that cyclical debate begins
its inevitable descent toward counterproductivity, let's hope
somebody remembers that the original intent of the guild was to
strengthen the trade's position in its dealings with the
airlines.