Switch-selling?

Switch-selling?

8 out of 10 agents say their clients prefer it

Report by LISA JAMES

EIGHT out of 10 travel agents claim they are now switch-selling from British Airways following the introduction of its payment scheme, the Fresh Approach.

A Travel Weekly poll of 130 retailers up and down the country showed most are not having any problem persuading their clients to travel with rival airlines.

Geoff Blagg, managing director of Galaxy Travel, Norwich, said:”Clients are initially wary of the reasons for switching, but as long as we show the itineraries are similar and the prices are the same or better, there is no problem.”

Geoff Lance, managing director of Champion Travel in Hampton Hill, Middlesex, said:”Customers are perfectly happy to fly with another carrier.”

And AFS Travel managing director Adrian Swift said:”BA has its head in the sand if it thinks clients will insist on flying with them.”

Most agents say they are acting in protest at BA’s new scheme, launched on April 1, which replaces 7% commission with flat-level sector payments.

Many are making sure they will be better off under the FreshApproach by picking and choosing when to book with BA. Generally, they are opting to put long-haul business with rival airlines that still pay commission, while booking BA for lower-end fares.

Under the Fresh Approach, agents can earn more under sector payments for economy and domestic fares than with the old commission scheme. One-third of agents who are switch-selling think they will be able to do so in the long term.

Blagg told us:”Switch-selling is more sustainable the longer we do it.”

Agents who have not yet switch-sold said they are “monitoring the situation”, while others said they cannot through “lack of choice”.

However, 20% of agents said switch-selling was not the answer.

Travel Incorporate managing director Jeremy King, based in Reading, Berkshire, said:”Switch-selling in order to maximise our profits is a clear breach of our duty of caring for our clients.

“In years to come, we will thank BA for pushing the trade, kicking and screaming in some cases, into the 21st century.”

Ibrahim Kanli, managing director of Travel World International in Ilford, Essex, said: “We are not going to make as much money on long-haul business, but the differences between BA and agents is not a customer problem. Clients should not be on the receiving end.”

BA head of UK and Ireland sales Tiffany Hall agreed some agents would switch-sell, but said the majority of “key trade partners have been supportive”.

She said: “There is a minority of agents who have threatened to boycott BA, but we anticipated that.

“So far, the launch of Fresh Approach has been very successful. This is in line with our expectations after many months of extensive preparation.”

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Food for thought: Travel Weekly’s survey reveals agents are now offering clients a wider choice of airlines