ARTA and ARTA Canada have jointly written to American Airlines' officials with the goal of opening dialogue on the current disagreement between AA , GDS provider Travelport and online agency Orbitz.
Both agency associations are concerned that travel agents may find themselves in the middle of a wider dispute which may have severe repercussions for the agency community and potentially prompt other carriers to review their distribution mechanisms.
The agency associations say they are strong proponents of reducing airline distribution costs with the goal of encouraging more investment by carriers in remuneration programs and stronger relationships with the travel agency sales channel. However, ARTA says such a cost reduction must be coupled with a viable set of tools reflecting the way agencies do business and supporting the infrastructure agents have built over many years.
"We know there is ever-increasing technology out there that merits a look-see to determine if there's a good fit for both agent and supplier. We just want airlines and other suppliers to recognize that we need to work together to assure that all direct stakeholders can benefit as we make any transition to enhanced or new platforms", said Sally Watkins, CTC, Vice Chairman of ARTA.
In the letter, ARTA and ARTA Canada expressed hope that the current volley of lawsuits and tough words in the press would not be a prelude to a return to "preferred distribution channels", $3.50 per segment penalties for using unapproved booking tools and a passing-on of other booking and distribution fees to agencies.
"From new XML options leveraging superior process workflows to the growing importance of deploying and capturing ancillary products and services, we recognize that airlines want to enhance their selling and distribution platforms to embrace these important aspects of cost reduction and new revenue,” said ARTA Canada President Bruce Bishins, CTC.
“Agents have a role to play in giving airlines and other travel suppliers a clearer view of what works and what doesn't work when we sell their services. We support AA's right to lower costs. We just want to be sure that it doesn't raise ours in the process."
ARTA and ARTA Canada have asked AA for a meeting with officials from both agency associations.
