Shocking comments from Airline Exec. about Travel Agents
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Loading ...In a recent article about Easyjet’s agreements with Amadeus and Galileo, Ryanair’s communication head, Peter Sharrard referred to travel agents as “parasites” and “rip-off middlemen”.
As a direct to consumer supplier, I can understand why Sharrard would consider agents as an expensive intermediary but to alienate them by referring to them in a derogatory fashion doesn’t make any sense at all. There was a time in the early nineties when Canadian air carriers did the same direct to consumer sales tactics by cutting out the agents. What they found was that agents stopped selling their products and would simply direct sales to other carriers. In a small market like Canada, that can have a dramatic effect on an airline’s bottom line. In the end, the carriers went back to providing commissions to agents because they recognized that they are, if anyting, a necessary part of the sales cycle (for now anyway).
Travel agents are already an embattled group and are struggling to find their place in an overly competitive online and offline World. A better solution for suppliers like Ryanair might be to find ways to help agents realize revenue and sell their product while adding value to consumers. Perhaps consumers would be happy paying an extra few dollars (or pounds) if they know they are going to get better service at the end of the day.
You can read the original story on TravelMole.
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