GLOBAL alliances might be good news for the customer but they often mean more work for the travel agent, according to Bristol-based business travel specialist Lysaker Travel.
The difficulty is, according to senior business travel consultant Harry Harris, that agents have to remember which airlines belong to which alliance. This information is constantly changing, so problems can arise.
“Customers benefit because they can earn more frequent flyer points by travelling with allied carriers – and this is becoming more and more important to them – but there aren’t any real benefits for the agent,” said Harris.
“The only difference the alliances make to us is that we have to remember who is allied to who because there is no way of knowing when you book on the computer reservations systems.”
Harris said that while the alliances had resulted in cheaper round-the-world fares, it was difficult for agents to stay abreast of the latest offers.
“There are so many around now that it can be quite a job keeping up with them all,” he added. “At the moment Singapore Airlines has a deal with Delta Air Lines, but there is also a deal with Northwest. We have more work on our hands trying to calculate which one is the best deal.”
He dismissed Lufthansa’s claims that airlines had made it easier for agents to make bookings by grouping together and offering single tickets for multi-sector itineraries.
“In reality that hasn’t made it easier,” he said. “Whether we have to issue one ticket per trip or several doesn’t make much difference to us,” said Harris. “And we are not making any more money out of the airlines because they are all cutting commission.”
Nevertheless, Harris accepted that it was inevitable that the alliances would continue to grow. “European airlines need to create alliances to compete with British Airways,” he said. “BA is so huge that the other carriers need to have something like the Star Alliance to get the business.”