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Airlines cut travel agents` commissions

Bad Credit Credit Creditres Air travelers will probably pay more for tickets purchased from travel agencies because four airlines recently cut most travel agent commissions.

is credited for the group booking, the Travel Agent commission may be reduced in order to compensate the affiliate.

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A good agency probably belongs to a travel agency association. The two main associations in the US are the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA). Most good agencies also are accredited by the airlines to issue tickets. The two accrediting bodies are the Airlines Recording Corporation (ARC) for domestic airlines and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for international airlines.

Bad Company Credit Repair American, Continental and Northwest followed Delta`s lead last week to cut most commissions on tickets sold by travel agencies in the United States and Canada.

HotelPlanner.com will pay a 10% commission on hotel room revenue produced to all Travel Agents for group bookings processed through HotelPlanner.com minus our third party transaction fee of 5% of hotel room revenue produced. In the case an affiliate of Lexyl Travel Technologies, Inc. is credited for the group booking, the Travel Agent commission may be reduced in order to compensate the affiliate. This third party transaction fee will include all hotel rate and information procurement, as well as database and website maintenance, in addition to commission collections performed by HotelPlanner.com. The hotel is only responsible for paying 10% commission as stated above on actualized room revenue produced. If the hotel fails to pay the commission, HotelPlanner.com cannot be held liable for the unpaid commission. Travel Agent bookings are not eligible for any other rebates or cash back promotions through the HotelPlanner.com system.

Bad Card Credit Credit About 80 percent of airline tickets are sold through travel agencies. Critics of the airlines` decision say those agencies will likely be forced to charge fees to consumers.

However, airfares are subject to the price and conditions quoted by the airlines and cannot be guaranteed by the Travel Agent.

Bad Car Credit Loan ``It`s an anti-consumer move,`` said Bill Maloney, executive vice president and chief operating officer for American Society of Travel Agents in Alexandria, Va.

Airlines and travel agents blasted a proposal floated by the House Appropriations Committee that would double the $2.50 per segment security fee paid on airline tickets to $5. At the time of this report, the House had postponed a vote on the proposal, which is part of a $29.7 billion emergency supplemental appropriation to cover the Transportation Security Adminstration`s rising costs. But airlines and travel agents contend raising the fee would hamper air travel sales, just as the industry is starting to rebound from the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Bad Credit Loan Mortgage However, Maloney said there wouldn`t be a major price increase for consumers. Travel agencies receive a 5 percent commission on a ticket and no more than $20 on a round-trip U.S. flight. The decision by the airline companies might cause consolidation among travel agencies, reducing the number of agencies to which a consumer can turn, Maloney said.

Auto Bad Credit Loan There are 27,000 travel agencies nationwide, and about 30 agencies in the Lehigh Valley, said Gene Clock, president of the Lehigh Valley Travel Alliance. The group was created to pool resources for advertising in the face of slow travel times since Sept. 11. Analysts predict Delta`s action to be adopted industry-wide. ``If it`s not now, it`s later,`` said Raymond Neidl, airline analyst with ABN Amro Bank in New York City.

Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance The top nine airline carriers lost $3 billion collectively in the fourth quarter because of Sept. 11 and a weak economy. They are expected to lose another $2 billion for 2002, according to ABN Amro. The industry isn`t expected to make a profit until 2003.

Bad Credit Refinance Cutting commissions is a major way for airlines to trim costs. For example, it`s saving Delta $160 million to $185 million annually, said James Higgins, airline analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston in New York City.

Bad Credit Mortgage Second The four airline carriers that have eliminated most commissions will likely negotiate incentive programs to agencies that sell a large number of tickets, Higgins said.

Bad Credit Loan Student Airline carriers hope their move will steer customers online. When a flier books a ticket online, it costs the airline carrier anywhere from nothing to $10, Higgins said.

Bad Card Credit For most airlines, about 15 percent of tickets are bought online.Since 1995, airlines have slashed commissions from 10 to 5 percent. But travel agents will survive, Maloney said. ``Consumers love us,`` he said. ``We are where America shops for travel.``

Bad Credit Financing However, consumers might see travel agencies selling fewer airline tickets. Instead, they will diversify their business to other areas such as cruises, car rentals, hotels and tours, Maloney said.

Bad Credit Home Loan Mortgage Maryellen Iobst, owner of Iobst Travel Service agency offices in Emmaus and Easton, began four years ago charging customers a transaction fee of $5 a ticket. Over the years as the airlines decreased the commissions, that transaction fee rose to $30 a ticket. And now an additional, undetermined amount will be tacked onto the $30 because of the airlines` recent move.``We will have to pass along costs to consumers,`` said Clock, who is also vice president of sales and marketing for Iobst. ``It`s called survival.``

Bad Credit Loan People Pam Zitta, owner of Barmar Travel in Quakertown, will wait another week or so before she decides whether she will pass costs to consumers. ``I want to see what other agencies are doing,`` Zitta said. ``I want to remain as competitive as possible.``

Bad Card Credit Credit People Liberty Travel in Whitehall Township is not going to pass along any cost to fliers. If one of the airlines that cut commissions sells a ticket for $100, Liberty will sell it to the customer for $100, manager Allen Bernstein said. If the agency does that, ``You might like us and come back and book a cruise with us next year,`` he said. About a third of Liberty`s sales come from people who only buy airline tickets, he said.

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