t's been a year since Delta led the
airlines to zero, and most agents now tell us that, for the most
part, the effect was about as bad as they expected. About 25% of
agents said it was even worse. For 15% of agents, the impact was
less than expected.
But as we also report in this issue, agents regard the first
year of the zero-commission era as a tough year because of the soft
economy and continued traveler tension triggered by security alerts
and the potential for terrorism and war.
In fact, some agents report that these factors are having a
bigger impact on their business these days than airline commission
rates. And some even say their biggest concern in dealing with
airlines is not about commissions, but about dealing with
airlines.
If zero comes to represent not just the absence of compensation
but the absence of cooperation, communication and trust, then its
effect will be far more damaging than anyone had feared.
Unfortunately, mending fences with travel agents doesn't seem
very high on the list of priorities for an airline industry
struggling to survive, so we wait.
• • •
Dual citizenship?
e don't have a word that
perfectly describes the cooperative venture taking shape between
Uniglobe, the agency franchise group, and Vacation.com, the
big, sprawling consortium. But we think it's a promising venture,
not only for those two groups, but for other agency organizations,
as well.
With 7,500 locations, you'd think that Vacation.com has the
critical mass and buying power to serve all its members' needs. Not
quite. After all, it is a leisure-oriented operation, and there are
some things it doesn't do well. And that's where where Uniglobe
comes in.
The plan calls for Uniglobe to admit some Vacation.com agencies
into the franchiser's extended family, enabling them to benefit
from some of Uniglobe's preferred-supplier relationships without
completely surrendering their identities.
If this proves workable, travel agencies, and travel agency
groups, could end up with one more piece of survival gear.
• • •
'What's the catch?'
ometimes, not even the Wall
Street Journal gets it right.
We refer to the zinger on the Journal's travel page the other
day about a recent British Airways discount fare that was only
available through travel agents.
After mentioning the delicious $198 roundtrip rate, Journal
columnist Pooja Bhatia said: "The catch: You have to book it
through a travel agent."
"The catch?"