| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 17/04/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 1 |
| Copyright: Other |
Fees will cost you allthis money
Burris:told agents at the seminar to face up to management fees or risk losing their businessReport by JANE ARCHER and LISA JAMES
TRAVEL agents could lose up to 20% of their business overnight when they introduce service fees, a British Airways-employed consultant has warned.The news came as BA caved in to pressure from agents to increase the basic level of payments for bookings.
Canadian Nolan Burris, who was speaking at a series of BA service fee seminars, said:”You need to sell it as a business concept. It doesn’t work with everyone and generally any company that moves to service fees loses up to 20% of business overnight, so build in a 20% cushion.”
However, he said the lost business may return in time as corporates and customers realise other agents are introducing fees.
Burris, who was an agent when commission was axed in Canada, added: “I don’t ever want to be a victim again.”
Commenting on a number of agents who failed to turn up to the London Heathrow seminar or left before the end, Burris said: “They are the ones with tunnel vision and they will not be here in the future because no airline will be paying commission in two years’ time.”
He urged agents to adapt to the changes or risk losing their businesses. “It is not worth fighting this. BAis going to do what it wants to do and nothing anyone here says will change it.”
Meanwhile, BA’s original suggestion of paying £5 for short-haul booking, £10 for long haul and £15 for business class, first class or Concorde bookings has been modified.
Now it will pay £6 for discounted domestic and Euro Traveller fares, £11 for full-fare domestic, Euro Traveller, Club Europe and discounted World Traveller fares and £20 per sector for full-fare World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World, First and Concorde. And BA’s decision to fine agents £25 for issuing a ticket on demand on an e-ticket route, due to come into effect on April 1, has been postponed until May 1.
ABTAbelieves 70% of agents will be better off than they would have been under a 7% flat-rate commission, now BA has increased its basic payment levels. ABTAaviation committee chairman Sandy MacPherson said: “When you take into account sales and marketing agreements, a lot of agents can now earn 9%, so we are satisfied with the result.”
The chairman of the Guild of Business Travel Agents’ Value Plus working group GrahamFlack said:”It’s a fresh approach which follows the principle that the airline should pay the agent for the services provided.”
n See seminar report, page 5