Time to call in Nolan Burris again?

Time to call in Nolan Burris again?

My, my, how times change! We all thought that British Airways regarded travel agents simply as parasites who extracted 7% out of every booking. Now, all of a sudden, the airline is asking us to help it out of the mess it’s in, a large proportion of which is self-inflicted.

My gut reaction is to let it fail. There are plenty of other airlines only too happy to fill the slots, and all too willing to pay agents their rightful commission. BA had no consideration for the future of agents, so why should we care about what happens to it?

If we are to work with BA in the future, it should only be on the clear understanding that commission is restored and guaranteed. That might help restore confidence in BA, but once trust is lost, the carrier will find it takes a long time to restore.

What a pity there is no organisation in our industry that is capable of negotiating with BA and taking advantage of the present situation, much as BAtook advantage of agents.

Perhaps BA could call in US service fee expert Nolan Burris again to help it sort out its financial problems. I am sure he could come up with some innovative ideas that can be adopted by staff.

P Peake, Peakes Travel, Shrewsbury, Shropshire