Report by John Lavabre
THE FAIR Deal for Travel Agents’ campaign has decided not to
boycott British Airways in the run-up to St Valentine’s Day.
Campaigners opposed to BA’s plan to abolish commission
payments in April had suggested agents boycott BA next week. The idea behind
the protest was to show agents had ‘fallen out of love with BA’ (Travel
Weekly December 11).
Manchester-based Pole Travel assistant manager Jill Waite,
who has spearheaded the Fair Deal campaign, said: “The boycott was never a
confirmed thing. Everyone has got to sell BA flights, I do not think anyone
goes out of their way to push them. People must do what is best for their business.”
Despite this lack of support, campaigners are encouraging
agents to fax their protests to European competition commissioner Mario Monti.
Peake and Waite, along with Chertsey-based Scheduled Air director David Hall, believe
BA could be acting uncompetitively by imposing zero commission on UK agents
while continuing to pay commission to their European counterparts.