BRITISH Airways claims only 1% of agents are switch selling
to other airlines following a month-long survey.
BA used an independent company to ring 1,600 business and
leisure agents throughout the country to find out whether retailers would offer
a quote on a BA flight, and whether a BA flight would be offered without any
prompting.
A spokeswoman said that out of 1,600 agents, 60% were asked
to give a quote on a BA flight, with the rest asked to recommend any flight. BA
said 1% of agents who refused to quote a BA fare came from the 60%, amounting
to five agents.
She commented: “We are pleased with the results, but it’s
still early days.”
The airline decided to mystery shop agents after some vowed
to switch-sell to other airlines offering higher levels of commission. Agents
threatened to switch-sell after BA introduced the zero-commission Fresh
Approach.