AGENTS are being offered up to £100 cash incentives for
premium-class bookings across the Atlantic in a desperate attempt by airlines
to revive their business.
Capacity cuts prompted by a slump in transatlantic traffic
following the US terrorist attacks have forced carriers to adopt what is
thought to be the biggest-ever individual incentive programme directed through
the trade.
Delta is giving selected business travel agents and
consolidators £100 for each round-trip BusinessElite booking on the daily Gatwick
to Boston service. Its daily Atlanta flights from Gatwick and Manchester and
Gatwick to Cincinnati service could be included in the scheme, which runs until
the end of the year.
Continental Airlines is handing out £50 in capital bonds vouchers
to every agent booking a round-trip BusinessFirst ticket on its Newark flights
from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham as well as its Gatwick-Houston
services.