Fee-spurned agents
By Jennifer Thomas
avoid United bookings
Bloomberg NewsWASHINGTON -- Some travel agents are steering passengers away from UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the world's largest carrier, for leading the move to cut agents' ticket commissions from 8 percent to 5 percent.
Since United initiated the cuts Oct. 7, all of the major U.S. carriers and several international carriers have followed suit. The airlines want to cut costs and sell more tickets directly to customers through the airlines' Internet sites. Travel agents say the cut is an anti-competitive tactic aimed at driving agencies out of business. Some have responded by refusing to book passengers on United, while others are slapping additional fees on United tickets.
Debbie Stone, owner of Sanibel Travel, an agency in Sanibel Florida, said she's received faxes from sources urging a boycott against United. While her agency isn't participating in a United boycott, Stone yesterday decided to add a $10 fee to all airline tickets.
"Ultimately, we are going to do whatever our customers want," Stone said. "But we decided we had to tack an additional fee on, in part just to educate customers about the cuts."
A spokeswoman for United said bookings are in line with expectations but the airline would not comment on reports of a boycott.
Paul Ruden, chief counsel for American Society of Travel Agents, said any actions against United are not organized by his group. "I don't know what is going on, and frankly I don't want to," Ruden said, adding that an organized boycott would violate antitrust laws.
Still, he said it is "a perfectly lawful decision for individual travel agents to decide not to book on United." ASTA represents 11,000 U.S. travel agencies.
ASTA is preparing to file a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation charging the airlines with engaging in unfair and deceptive practices, Ruden said.
The cuts implemented by most airlines include a $50 cap on commissions paid for round-trip U.S. tickets, a $47 limit on tickets bought in Canada for round-trip flights between the United States and Canada, and a $100 limit on round-trip international flights.
