WASHINGTON -- ASTA president Mike Spinelli stated that one
airline will pledge publicly "in a few weeks" that it will not cut
international commissions.
Spinelli, who did not identify the airline, said ASTA will give
wide publicity to the carrier and any others that make such
pledges.
After the domestic caps, he said a lot of agents have been
wondering when an international pay cut will come.
"It's almost like we're waiting for the next shoe to drop. My
plan is to stop the next shoe," Spinelli told a crowd of 265 at an
ASTA Central Atlantic Chapter dinner meeting.
In a speech that was part briefing, part pep talk, Spinelli said
that "unfortunately we can't strike" by boycotting a supplier that
"threatens us," because of antitrust laws.
But he exhorted the audience to remember "the one word" used by
shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland, when they faced the "evil
empire" of the communist Soviet Union several years ago.
As members of the audience began to murmur the word
"solidarity," Spinelli commented, "You'd be stupid not to realize
that. We operate on too small a margin."
Most companies, he said, start their employees at the minimum
wage and move them up the pay scale.
In the agency business, he said, "They want us to start at the
minimum wage and go down. Do you know of any other industry that
works to find the cheapest fare and the commission goes down? It's
insanity. We've done the impossible for so long."
Spinelli said he will ask other agency organizations to join
with the Society in speaking with "one voice" on issues.
He said organizations such as "AAA, Carlson and Uniglobe" can
have "their own little organizations" for their own needs, "but
when it comes to trade matters, it's got to be one voice."
He noted that AAA is often quoted in the consumer press on how
highways will be crowded during holiday travel periods, which he
said is "pretty obvious."
"If AAA can be the expert on road travel, I want ASTA to become
the expert on world travel."
Since becoming ASTA president last October, Spinelli said he has
given dozens of interviews to consumer media in an effort to make
the Society more widely known.
The word to the consumer is not "see your travel agent," but
rather "see your ASTA travel agent," he said.
Spinelli said the consumer press "looks on us as middlers," or
middlepersons who are constantly trying to sell a higher fare in
order to grab a higher commission.
"I am dog tired of seeing anybody criticize travel agents," he
said.
At another point, he said, "The biggest critic of travel agents
is the person who has never used a travel agent. As soon as they
use us, they realize we're slaves."
Spinelli fleetingly referred to his theme that ASTA should set
some kind of accreditation standards for the travel agent
profession.
Noting that it takes several years to become a plumber or
barber, he asked, "How long does it take to become a travel agent?
This is why you have the card mill problem today."
Other comments from Spinelli's speech:
* "Is there any other profession where they call you for the
name of the hotel nearest the convention center in Burkina Faso,
and you're expected to know?"
* "Never forget your value, never sell yourselves short."
* "The key is perception. If the public doesn't perceive us as
experts, we've got nothing."