And why Nick, do you feel that the airlines should have a free distribution network? Mark Nick Laflamme wrote: > 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