A cruise line recently gave
my agency's competitor permission to book a large school group,
which is something that the cruise line has repeatedly forbidden us
to do. Do I have a claim of any kind for this unequal
treatment?
A: Unfortunately, you have no legal claim, as
suppliers are free to discriminate against agents in any way they
desire. There are no laws in the U.S. that require suppliers of
services, such as airlines, hotels, car-rental firms, tour
operators and cruise lines, to accord equal treatment to sales
agents.
This freedom to discriminate applies to prices, agency
commissions and even to sale conditions.
The federal law prohibiting price discrimination under certain
circumstances, the Robinson Pattman Act, applies only to the sale
of goods.
Under court precedents, airline tickets are not goods (simply
services), so cruise tickets would not come under this law.
Even the federal civil rights laws are inapplicable to you.
Your agency is a corporation, and civil rights laws do not
protect corporations from discrimination. And, even if your agency
were a sole proprietorship owned by a protected minority, civil
rights laws do not prohibit discrimination in supplier/agency
relationships, unless the agent is an employee of the supplier.
My analysis wouldn't change even if you acted as a wholesaler of
cruise space or even if you bought space for resale instead of
acting as a sales agent.
That's why it's legal for cruise lines to give the best rates to
wholesalers in Florida and not elsewhere, and for airlines to give
good rates to only some consolidators.
The only exception to my advice is as follows: Under the
antitrust laws, it is illegal for two or more suppliers to agree on
rates or rules that affect rates, and it also is illegal for just
one supplier to use price discrimination to monopolize a
market.
Unfortunately for you, neither of these violations appears to be
present in your case.
Mark Pestronk is a Fairfax, Va.-based attorney specializing
in travel law. He answers your questions in the Crossroads Legal Issues forum. To contact Mark directly,
e-mail him at [email protected].