VIRGIN Atlantic is reviewing its travel agent commission
scheme less than a year after its introduction.
But it will not say whether it plans to follow the lead of rival
British Airways and drop agent payments to zero in favour of net
fares. A spokeswoman said: “I’m not sure which way it
is going. We are reviewing the scheme but any announcement is still
a few months away.”
Virgin launched the Colours scheme in spring 2004 and pays
registered agents commission ranging from 1%-7%. The level of
payment depends on factors including the class of seat sold and
Virgin’s own negotiated agency agreements. Agents who are not
Colours-registered do not get commission. “We did get
positive feedback on Colours. We’ve always had a generous
commission scheme because we believe the relationship with the
trade is very important,” added the spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, Kenya Airways is to cut agent commissions from 9% to 1%
from April 1. Country manager David Granville said this was due to
cost cutting, matching partner KLM’s 1% commission structure,
and recognising ‘close to 90%’ of UK-sold Kenya Airways
fares are net rather than commissionable fares.