When Delta ceo, Richard Anderson recently jumped on the “agents-pay-airlines” bandwagon, saying he supported a similar vision to that of Richard Arpey, American Airlines’ ceo, (Arpey said he dreams of the day when travel agents and GDSs pay airlines for access to their content, rather than the reverse – (see previous blog post below) the US travel industry came to the boil.

In an open letter to the travel industry, Chris Russo, ASTA chairman and president said: “Much like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, both men envision a utopia that punishes individuals for breaking from their planned universe. They see a world in which everyone will happily accept that what they say is right and good. A world in which travel agents and online travel agencies will pay for the privilege of selling what has become a transportation commodity, and not a pleasurable one at that. They see a place where they, not the customer, are the center of the universe.

Under their vision, gone will be any semblance of customer service or follow through. Why should it exist when consumers will simply select the cheapest flights, go straight to that airline’s Web site and book it.”

“…Well, my customers don’t envision that world, and if I have anything to do with it, they never will. They don’t call me looking for an airplane seat. They call me to help them plan their vacation. They call me because they have a last-minute business meeting in London. They call because they want me to plan their family reunion next summer or because they have a funeral to attend. They call me for my assistance, for my expertise and for the value I provide them, and they are willing to pay for my services. They know they can go online and find out the price of everything. I sell them on the value of everything.“…

“Distribution for an airline, for example, includes much more than simply offering a seat and taking payment. Credit card merchant fees are included, as are GDS segment fees and commissions paid to international agents and large online travel agencies. With all these expenses there are few costs associated with travel agents. They took care of that a long time ago. But as the airlines start to look around, they see that travel agents are still in business and still making money. Money that isn’t going into their coffers.”

Why? Because we are where America shops for travel. Travel agents can manage a customer’s needs for air, hotel, car, insurance, theater and more. Consumers want choice. Consumers want service. Consumers want advocates who will fight for their rights. They want a distribution system that gives them full access to the entire travel industry, both leisure and commercial.

And in an open letter to Southwest from the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) chairman, Kevin Mitchell sees another force at work  - airlines like Southwest, looking for more high-yield business traffic by having a GDS presence are tinkering with agents’ livelihoods, yet are unable to replace the service model which TMCs provide.

Referring to a distribution fee Southwest already charges for bookings on the Travelport GDS, Mitchell says this type of thinking “would virtually shift your entire cost of distribution to travel management companies (TMCs) and then in turn onto the backs of corporate customers who already pay for distribution in the price of Southwest Airlines’ tickets.”

“While recently there has been much dangerous “dreaming” by airline executives about leading customers toward this self-serving future, I can assure you that this is not where travel buyers intend to go, and certainly not a path to success for an airline looking to grow in the corporate space. Companies will drive market share to those airlines that listen and are responsive to their preferences.”

“High-value corporate customers will not accept picking up the tab twice for Southwest’s distribution costs and at the same time cross-subsidize your leisure fares… you should know our community will not be dictated to, especially when a wholesale replacement of a tried-and-true distribution model that serves our needs is concerned.”  �