RYANAIR has been attacked for forcing agents to use a premium rate telephone line for enquiries.
Agents calling the low-cost airline’s trade hotline – 0901 277 2772 – are charged 25p a minute.
Julian Slatter, a partner at Edinburgh-based Flight Bureau Direct, branded the line a ‘rip-off’ for agents.
“It is bad enough calling the national rate numbers, but the premium line is outrageous,” he said.
Slatter said the 7.5% commission paid on Ryanair tickets would barely cover his costs due to the expensive telephone system.
He added Ryanair’s other costs, including credit-card booking charges, made selling the airline tough for agents.
“If we sell a ticket on a deal, the commission we get may not cover our costs.
“All the costs add up and make it difficult for agents to sell Ryanair,” said Slatter.
He said staff were being told not to accept bookings in the shop if it looked like they would be kept hanging on for an answer on premium lines.
Ryanair commercial director Tim Jeans confirmed the 25p a minute charge, but was unrepentant. “We are trying to constrain demand and want agents to use their computer reservation systems to answer queries,” he said.
“Otherwise we would have to employ dozens of agents answering calls in an organisation where low distribution costs are a key feature.”
Jeans conceded agents that use Sabre have to use the premium line as Ryanair is not carried by the CRS.
However, he said that was a problem between Sabre and the agent. He assured agents Ryanair was not getting rich through the telephone line and said there was other areas where Ryanair could boost profits. These include charging £3 for each credit card booking and £2 to pick up tickets at airports.
BT confirmed Ryanair’s agent hotline number cost 25p per minute, but added charges could be higher from certain telephones. Ironically, it is Ryanair’s home agents in Ireland which suffer most from the carrier’s premium line. Each call costs them 58p a minute.