IN THE Letter of the Week (Travel Weekly February 21) Brian Bass suggested urging credit-card companies to cap their commission charges to retailers to a fixed amount, as opposed to a percentage of the value of the transaction.
He said the cost of processing each item remains the same, despite the value.
I failed, regretfully, to detect any irony in his letter and I assume, therefore, that he is quite happy to accept the reverse situation of British Airways proposed commission/service charge policy towards travel agents.
In the same issue you published an interview with Bob Ayling. I am no lover of BA’s often cynical approach to passengers and travel agents and witness their so-called passenger service charge (when are they going to charge separately for fuel, paint jobs, stewardesses uniforms etc?), although it’s curious how quickly other airlines got on the bandwagon.
I think Ayling and his board have got it wrong in concentrating on business travel revenue at the expense of leisure or visiting friends and relativestraffic.
There will be no decline in leisure travel, whereas business travel is subject to the irregularities of the so-called global economy.
Also, Ayling says he expects around 50% of BA’s ticket sales to be through the Internet within three years – does he not realise the Web may equally apply to other businesses, and the need to fly to meetings may be reduced.
I believe BA has lost its direction – it wants to be a flag carrier with all the prestige that used to imply, but wants to get further involved with global airline alliances. It doesn’t want to lose too much leisure business, but believes the answer could be establishing its own direct-sell airline at immense cost but for little net return. It wants to reduce distribution costs by cutting out travel agents, but without appreciating what a double-edged sword the Internet can be.
Like the City, I too have lost belief in BA, until there is a positive change in its philosophy and it makes up its mind precisely what direction it means to go in.
Danny Madigan
Bromley Travel Centre
Bromley
Kent