MIAMI -- ASTA and Sabre used the World Travel Congress to redouble
their efforts to get agents to fight the Department of
Transportation's proposed changes in GDS regulations.
Most of a session on government affairs was devoted to appeals
for agents to urge elected officials to block the proposed
changes.
The DOT is expected to submit its final recommendations to the
White House's Office of Management and Budget before the end of the
month.
Bruce Charendoff, Sabre's senior vice president of government
affairs, said the DOT proposal is designed to protect airlines, but
would adversely affect travel agencies in many ways.
"A deregulated environment free from government restrictions
would be better for the industry. We would still have antitrust and
consumer protection laws working for us," Charendoff said.
The initial DOT proposal, published last year, would ban or
limit travel-agency productivity payments.
The proposal also would limit agency service fees and revise
advertising rules to require separate disclosure of the fees.