he headline brightened my mood: "BA
returns to commissions for U.K. agents." I knew that some major
airline would see the light one of these days, reverse its course
and start paying commissions again.
And here was one of my favorites, good old British Airways,
taking the lead. Wrong.
BA is returning to a commission-based policy in Britain, all
right, but they're paying 1%, effective Dec. 1.
One percent. Give me a break.
Two years ago, BA stopped paying 7% commissions and announced
what it euphemistically called a "fresh approach" to agency
compensation. The new plan was based on fees, calculated according
to the type of fare and the length of a flight. The program would
pay from $3.93 to $31.42 for a booking. As paltry as these sums
were, they actually represented a better deal than the 1% about to
be offered.
As you would expect, British agents are outraged. The word they
are using to describe the plan is "derisory." That sent me to my
Funk & Wagnalls. "Derisory" turns out to be a Briticism that
means "laughably small." Leave it to the Brits to pick the right
word. Laughably small, that's what the 1% offer is.
BA says the rate reflects the tough times it is having in
attempting to compete with low-cost carriers. Maybe so. But 1% also
is a slap in the face to thousands of agencies that have supported
the carrier for years.
The 1% offer reminds me of an incident some years ago. They were
early days in my career, when I was engaged in a struggle to make
ends meet. I had an important appointment one morning in
Manhattan.
I rarely used taxis in those days, preferring the lower-cost
alternatives of walking or using the subway. But it was raining
hard, so I decided to hail one.
When we reached the address I'd given the driver, I paid the
fare and tacked on what I thought was a reasonable tip. Truth be
told, it was a pittance but it was all I could afford. The driver
took the few additional cents I had offered and threw them back at
me. "You need this more than I do, Mister," he said.
British travel agents are threatening to show their anger by
"switch-selling," another Briticism that means selling away from a
supplier. I don't know if it's realistic for them to do business
without booking a carrier that has such a far-flung system.
Probably not. But no one could blame them if they tried.
One percent may be laughingly small, but British agents aren't
amused. In a way, the offer is worse than nothing. It's not only
insufficient, it's insulting.