ST. LOUIS -- TWA Getaway, one of the last of the dying breed of
in-house airline package tour divisions, will fade into history on
May 31.
The airline said it will suspend 30-year-old Getaway in the U.S.
and instead contract with tour operators to offer packages and
tours to the destinations it serves.
In the last few months, TWA struck such agreements, including
one with Travel Impressions, the Farmingdale, N.Y.-based operator
that is offering packages to Punta Cana, and Cancun with the
airline.
Tour packages in conjunction with TWA flights by other operators
-- yet to be announced -- will be offered on an enhanced TWA Web
site that is scheduled to launch this summer.
The Web site will target consumers; travel agents will not
receive commissions from bookings made on the site.
A TWA spokeswoman said the carrier does not yet want to disclose
its plans regarding its travel agent distribution strategy
concerning the tour products "for competitive reasons."
However, even though the carrier will not not pay commission on
its Web site, agents receive commission when booking through
wholesalers, such as Travel Impressions, which pays its standard
commission on the TWA packages, according to the tour operator.
The TWA spokeswoman said the decision to disband Getaway, which
handled 35,000 passengers in 1999, was made "to refocus on more
profitable parts of our business and on being an airline."
Getaway vacation packages will still exist in the European
market; the airline will continue Getaway as an inbound
operation.
Reservations agents working for Getaway at the carrier's
Norfolk, Va., reservations center will move to TWA's air
reservations department in the same city.
With the demise of TWA Getaway, American Airlines is the only
major airline to operate an in-house tour division, AA
Vacations.
The Leisure Company, a subsidiary of America West Holdings,
operates America West Vacations for America West Airlines.
Almost all of the other airlines contract with companies that
have large call center operations, such as Milwaukee-based The Mark
Travel Corp. or Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Certified Vacations, to
handle their tour and package products.