At 11:42 AM 3/25/2002 -0800, Matthew Montano wrote: >Now let me see if I get this right... <snip> >The funny thing is those extra 'fees' is that they never end up in the >originators pocket. If airlines figured out how to raise their prices AND >keep the sales reps for 75% of their product happy they would of done much >better. The customer would still have ended up paying the same price anyways. > >The first person in an executive board room that announces "Let's achieve >growth by dismissing 75% of our sales force" would be asked to leave, >point blank. > >I guess the airline industry continues to show they just don't get it. With all due respect to list members who are travel agents, I'm not sure if it's the airlines or the travel agents who "just don't get it." (And I'm tired of hearing travels bemoan each cut in commissions.) Airlines like Vanguard, Sun Country, WestJet and maybe JetBlue ought to be paying commissions. Why? Because they need something to level the playing ground against the advantages the majors have: name recognition, schedule advantages, and convenience. But why should Delta pay a travel agent a commission for a ticket? How often does a customer choose Delta over a competitor just because a travel agent recommended them because of a commission? People choose American, United, Delta, Northwest, and Continental because they're convenient and well known. In lots of cities both large and small, it's not hard to figure out a relatively fast, comparatively cheap way to get to some other city. It's a no-brainer for me to look at both United and Northwest when I'm considering travel between Washington and Minneapolis. Why would either United or Northwest pay a travel agent? Heck, United wants me to call them directly so there's no chance for someone to say, "Or you could fly Sun Country." The airlines want me to come directly to them; they've got call centers and web sites with retail access because customers look for them. The first person to walk into a board room and say, "Let's pay someone else to sell what we're already equipped to sell ourselves," has some explaining to do. I'm not saying I never use travel agents. But when I do, air transportation is never the driving factor; I'm looking at things like resort trips where once I've picked a resort and a time, the air travel will fall into place. And even then, if the travel agent says, "I'll just put you on Airtran for the travel," the majors know I'll ask, "Can I get there on..." and name two or three majors. No amount of commission paid to the travel agent is going to get me to pick Airtran. United, Delta, and the others don't have to pay that commission. Airtran and the other non-majors ought to try. None of this applies to Southwest, of course. They're in a class by themselves. :-) >Matthew Nick