Emirates continues to offer five per cent commission

Mumbai: Gulf-based Emirates Airlines recently announced that it will continue to offer commission to agents in India at the existing rate of five per cent. The move brings in a twist to the battle between agents and airlines keen to cut costs.
Hundreds of travel agents have taken to the streets, protesting against the decision of airlines to phase out commissions. Travel agents early this month returned sales authorisation letters given by Singapore Airlines to protest against the withdrawal of commission.
Timothy C Clark, President, Emirates Airlines said that agents were handling distribution on behalf of airlines and it was not fair to expect them to charge a fee from customers rather than charging a commission to airlines. “The fundamental concept is that when somebody does a job for you, you look after the person in a reasonable and fair manner. They (agents) are taking a huge chunk of your (airlines) cost of sale away from you. They have a margin above their costs and you are happy with the money they bring,” opined Clark. Commenting on Emirates Airlines move where they doubled commission in the UK when a rival carrier scrapped commissions to agents Clark said, “It worked to our (Emirates) advantage in a big way but the advantage did not last long because competition then adjusted their policy.”
Emirates' decision to continue with five per cent commission to agents may give a jolt to Singapore Airlines, which has so far failed to reach any agreement with travel agents to end the deadlock.
26/04/09 TravelBizMonitor

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Apr 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2009