The Real Reason the Airlines hate Travel Agencies

The airlines say that they can't afford to pay travel agents a 5% commission (up to a maximum of $20 per ticket) and so most major carriers have no stopped paying commissions entirely.  But, if the airline sells the ticket to you themselves via their (800) service, they have probably incurred $20 in costs (the cost of the phone call, the cost of the employee, related costs for supervisors, etc, etc) by selling it to you directly.  Even more strangely, although they 'can't afford' to pay up to $20 to a travel agent, they can offer as much as a 10% discount (with no limit) off all their fares if you buy from their website.  It doesn't make sense, does it?

Read on to understand the real reason that the airlines are keen to drive you away from travel agents and to force you to deal directly with them.

The reality is that there is a major 'cost' to the airlines which travel agents cause them - a cost they are desperate to hide and eliminate.  And, what is that cost?  It is the cost of losing revenue every time a travel agent advises a client how to save money on an airfare (for example, by changing routing or flight times), and/or the lost revenue every time a travel agent advises a client about a more convenient schedule or a lower fare on a competing airline.  With the difference in two fares being potentially the difference between perhaps $300 and $1500, good advice from a travel agent can 'cost' the airline (and save you!) a huge amount more than just $20.

Let me ask you this.  When was the last time you called an airline to book a flight, and the reservations agent at the other end said 'Oh, sir, I think I should volunteer the information that there is a flight on one of our competitors that leaves at the same time, but which flies nonstop instead of requiring a change in plane, and with a fare $250 cheaper than our fare.'???  No, instead, if you ask about other airlines, they'll stifle a giggle and say 'I'm sorry, but our computer system doesn't have that information'.  That, in a nutshell, is the difference between booking direct with an airline or with a travel agency.

These hidden 'costs' (ie when their otherwise captive clients are free to choose what is best for themselves rather than what is best for the airline) are potentially huge to the airlines - and this is what they want to eliminate.  They want to deprive you - their customers - of access to the best comparison information and expert advice that could otherwise save you huge amounts of time, trouble, and money.

How (good) Travel Agents Help You

Good travel agents don't just find you 'the lowest published fare' and 'the most convenient itinerary', although if this was all they ever did, you'd still want to use them all the time.  Here's a list of some other things that good travel agents can sometimes (but not always) help you with.  Note that this list only relates to airline travel, there's much more that agents can do when helping you with cars, hotels, tours, cruises, etc.

• Help you to get the best seat pre-assignments possible
• Treat you as a person and provide, in turn, personal service; and use their personal knowledge of your likes/dislikes/preferences to ensure that your travel plans best match your needs
• Pro-actively monitor your flights and fare and tell you if better itineraries or fares come along
• Act as your advocate in dispute and problem resolution
• Be available for emergency problems and flight changes
• Can sometimes obtain discounted consolidated tickets on domestic flights
• Can almost always obtain discounted consolidated tickets for international flights

An Airline Rep Confesses

I was talking on the phone with an airline representative earlier this week, and we were joking about lost luggage problems (a sick sort of subject to joke about!).  She then told me about a couple that had their luggage disappear for their entire two week international vacation, being found literally on the day they flew back home again.  I said, jokingly 'so, what did you do for them - give them a free amenities kit and toothbrush?'.  She said 'No, I upgraded them to business class for their international flights back to the US!'.   I was staggered by this, and asked what had made her do such an amazingly fair and generous thing.  Her answer :  'I knew their travel agent.  She called me and talked me into it!'

Think about this - because that couple booked through a travel agent, they had more bargaining power and ended up not only with a fair amount of cash compensation during their travels to buy clothing, etc, but also got business class travel back home again.  What do you think would have happened if they hadn't used a travel agent?  Yes, they'd still be waiting on hold while calling a 'baggage tracking service' somewhere trying to get an update on their claim!

You get the Agent you deserve!

If you want your travel agent to be truly helpful, then you need to open up and share all your plans and desires and needs with the agent, and encourage the agent to in turn 'go the extra mile' to help you.  As a former travel agent for ten years, I met just about every possible type of client, from almost literally screaming lunatics, through drunks, couples fighting out a divorce in front of me, paranoid types that didn't trust me and who were convinced that I was trying to trick them into spending too much money and so on.  And then there were all the people that almost served me with a lawsuit before walking in the door, and who then threatened lawsuits continually before, during and after their travels.  I hasten to add that (perhaps surprisingly) no-one ever filed!

But, I also met many lovely nice people who were a delight to work with.  Guess who got the best service?  Yes, the polite, pleasant, courteous, and friendly clients who went out of their way to help me to help them.

And, that is the key phrase.  You need to help your agent to help you.  And also encourage them to realize that their work on your behalf will not be wasted - that you truly are going to buy travel from them and that the time they spend working for you will be rewarded.  If you do these things, even an ordinary agent will become good, and a good agent will become extraordinary.