LAS VEGAS -- ASTA officials discussed a wide range of topics during
a roundtable discussion with media. Among the topics:
The airlines: ASTA president-elect Richard Copland said that
the airlines had become "irrelevant" to travel agencies even though
customers obviously still need point-to-point tickets. He said
agencies had learned how to maximize profitability on air tickets
while concentrating their efforts on nonair categories.Copland said the airlines are in trouble with consumers because
of continuing service problems, noting as the most recent example
the baggage handlers strike at the Denver airport.
"We throw out the baton to any airline that we are ready to help
if they will deal with us fairly. We're not the ones in trouble,
they are," he said.
Travelsellers.com: Outgoing ASTA president Joe Galloway
defended the Society's new for-profit entity, Travelsellers.com, which is starting this month. He
said he recognizes that it has made "some people nervous" but that
it is part of ASTA's strategy of "looking to the future,"
particularly as many agencies move away from selling airline
tickets and give up their ARC accreditation."Agents are no longer defined by their ARC number," he said. A
new identification system not sponsored by suppliers, as are the
others in the industry, is needed to identify travel agents as
legitimate sellers of travel, he said.
The Economy: Despite the rise in oil prices and the drop of
some stocks on Wall Street, William Maloney, ASTA staff executive
vice president, said agents are well positioned should the robust
U.S. economy stumble into a recession."In a recession, the ones that get hurt the most are the ones
with fixed costs. Travel agents have very little fixed costs." The
same can't be said for hotels, cruise lines and airlines.
"They are really [impacted] by fuel interest and less demand.
We'll do fine," Maloney said.
Consumer Awareness: Public relations is a major focus for ASTA
in the coming year, said Kathy Sudeikis, ASTA vice president-elect,
who noted that ASTA's PR kit is being mailed to member agencies in
the coming weeks.It will include sample speeches, designed for agents to give in
their local communities. Some include PowerPoint presentations.
The titles of the speeches are Agents versus the Internet;
Reasons to Use a Travel Agent, and Travel Scams and Travel Safety
for Women.
Technology: Maloney said the Society recognizes that many in
the industry believe ASTA is "irrelevant," but the Society is as
relevant as ever, particularly with the advances in technology with
the Society helping agency owners determine which new products and
services may be the best for their operations.