THE European Commission is set to unveil draconian proposals for partnerships between airlines and agents next month (Travel Weekly July 15 1998).
Brussels is expected to tell airlines that dominate a particular route they cannot pay override commissions on that route. The proposals are set to affect other corporate deals, including whether overrides are paid on a route-specific basis or part of a package.
The Guild of Business Travel Agents is lobbying the EC to keep the current payment scheme.
GBTA chairman Tony Hughes said:”The EC will not make a decision before February or March, but it is expected to say overrides given by dominant carriers would be illegal.”
n The GBTA was due to meet British Midland yesterday to persuade the airline to keep its 9% commission rate for agents.
British Midland is set to announce a new payment structure this month which it plans to introduce in the summer. The new scheme will match British Airways’ 7% base rate.