Mark Pestronk
Q: In late January, British Airways sent us a link to a new 14-page Travel Agency Addendum that applies to all ARC agencies in the U.S. as well as all IATA agencies worldwide. The addendum covers all the airlines that BA is affiliated with, including Aer Lingus and Iberia. Are there any surprises in the addendum?
A: The 8,200-word addendum largely reiterates the ARC Agency Reporting Agreement. It also deals with fares and commissions, which are subjects that ARC does not touch.
Like the ARC agreement, the addendum makes clear that any airline can decide to revoke the ticketing authority of any agency at any time for any reason or for no reason whatsoever. For good measure, the addendum cites no less than 10 specific examples for which an agency may lose its appointment, including booking or ticketing on behalf of a non-appointed third party, fare-rule violations that result in debit memos and failing to follow government regulations.
The addendum goes further, stating that if you lose your ticketing authority on a carrier, "Agent shall not, following such suspension or termination, access, obtain or display the Airlines' Content or facilitate ticket sales indirectly through any other agent or agency for any reason, including with the purpose or effect of obscuring Agent's own sales."
In another area, the addendum goes further than the ARC agreement does: "Once such authority is withdrawn, each Airline may cancel any bookings and/or ticketing made on behalf of third parties."
Until now, there has been no rule or law against marking up a ticket if the client is willing to pay more than the published airfare. Now, the addendum requires that "the fare price, excluding fees and charges including those applied by the Agent, shall not be more than the published price."
Some surprises:
First, in every sale, you must communicate the following before the client pays: "hand- and checked-baggage allowances; fare conditions or any exclusion from the fare product (for example but not limited to refunds, change conditions and fees); extra baggage fees; seat choice and selection fees; meal, fast track and/or lounge eligibility; and any other ancillary."
Second, "Agent is not entitled to any commission for ... tickets issued to owners, officers, directors, stockholders, members, partners or employees of either Agent or any person or entity which controls, is controlled by or is under common control with Agent, unless expressly permitted by each Airline in writing."
Third, "Agent must "provide a list of sub-agents and independent contractors who are not listed as employees of Agent with whom it is working, including name and any applicable accreditation details, at the start of this Agreement and quarterly on an ongoing basis."
Fourth, the agent must "provide advance notification if significant changes are expected to the Agent sales activity on the Airlines' ticket stock including, but not limited to, any change to the volumes and the forms of payment used and the reason."
In these and other ways, the BA-affiliated carriers have tightened the screws on agencies.