BUZZ, the new budget carrier from KLM, has signed 15 contracts with operators to provide seats for city-break programmes.
Thomson, Bridge Travel, Kuoni and Cresta are among the companies to have completed deals up to the end of the summer 2000 season.
Buzz’s European sales manager Suzanne Peck refused to say how many seats the Stansted-based carrier had been contracted for but confirmed other operators were being approached for business.
Peck said: “We will work with anybody who buys in seats, especially for groups.”
She said the most popular of Buzz’s destinations for operators were Paris, Vienna and Berlin. The other four cities served, Dusseldorf, Lyons, Frankfurt and Milan were also being targeted by the trade.
Peck said Buzz had looked for cities with a mix of leisure and business but new destinations to be launched in the summer will appeal to leisure operators.
From March 27, Helsinki, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Hamburg will join summer-only routes to Jerez, Montpelier and Toulouse.
“The villa market to Jerez and France should be popular,” said Peck.
She also said Buzz was working closely with business travel agents including Carlson Wagonlit, American Express, Hogg Robinson, P&O Travel and Britannic Travel to boost sales of more expensive flexible tickets called Open Deal.
Peck confirmed leisure agents do not get commission for selling Buzz, but are free to charge bookings at their discretion. “There is no set limit. The price is between the customer and the agent.”
Meanwhile, Buzz is to follow rival low-cost carrier Go by developing the Internet for agent sales.
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