PHOTO: American Airlines® Vacations Travel Agent Academy program.

American Airlines® Vacations is dedicated to providing a world-class experience for its travel agent partners. As part of these efforts, it has launched a new Travel Agent Academy education program designed to make your sales easier and more profitable.

In just two brief chapters, you’ll learn about the advantages of booking American Airlines Vacations for you and your clients, find out about its updated travel agent portal, gain assistance with the booking process and be informed on the best ways to maximize your commissions.

You can be assured that you’ll earn a competitive commission on every booking, because with American Airlines Vacations’ 100 percent bulk, 100 percent of the time policy, you earn commission on 100 percent of flights booked with a package. And, on top of the competitive commissions paid on all air and land arrangements, American Airlines Vacations’ agent mark-up feature lets you add an additional commission amount to any client booking you create! Plus, when you book American Airlines Preferred Hotels, the commission potential becomes even greater. Its vacation packages include more than 150,000 hotels in over 400 destinations around the world, encompassing favorite leisure destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Europe and the U.S. Plus, you’ll find options in Central and South America, Asia, Australia and more.

The new American Airlines Vacations offers flight plus hotel packages virtually everywhere American Airlines and its partners fly, worldwide. Plus, add-ons like rental cars, transfers, sightseeing tours and other activities are available in most major destinations.

American Airlines Vacations’ wide range of flexible vacation packages gives your clients great value at competitive prices, while offering you the opportunity to enhance your commission potential. All of its vacation elements are offered as components, so you can quickly and easily design a trip that suits your client’s interests and travel budget.

When you choose to bundle your clients’ travel components into one package price, you can offer them an unbeatable value by combining American Airlines Vacations unpublished low rates on flights with specially negotiated rates on hotels, activities and transportation.

Your clients can also earn miles on most flights when booking a vacation package, so be sure to include their AAdvantage® numbers when booking.

Flexible Policies

American Airlines Vacations makes the booking easier with its flexible change, payment and ticketing policies. A low $200 per person initial deposit locks the package in; the balance is due 45 days prior to travel. American Airlines Vacations never makes customers pay up front for “published air” like other tour operators. And, if you find a lower price from a competitor, you can take advantage of its Price Match Desk. As part of its “Lay-away” program, exclusive for travel agents, American Airlines Vacations accepts as many payments as needed, as long as the package is paid in full by 45 days before travel.

If you have any questions, a dedicated travel agent help desk is available 6 a.m. to midnight CT. And, once your clients leave on their trip, American Airlines Vacations is there to assist them with a tollfree hotline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

American Airlines Vacations wants to make your sales process easier and a full chapter of the two-chapter course is devoted to assisting you with the registration and booking process. At its updated and enhanced travel agent portal — aavacations.com/agent — you’ll find all you need to build memorable vacations for your clients and earn enhanced commissions.

You’ll learn about the tools available to help you get started with your bookings, how to earn peak commissions, how to search for and select a desired itinerary, with a choice of components (flight, hotel, car rental, additional activities), how to enter traveler information and how to access existing bookings, make payments and email reservations.

American Airlines has launched a $2 billion investment plan to give your customers a world-class travel experience. This includes new and enhanced aircraft; enhanced entertainment, Wi-Fi and power options, improvements at its global network of Admiral Club lounges and an improved airport experience.

Don’t miss this opportunity to become an American Airlines Vacations Specialist, and to build a profitable partnership for many years to come. Be sure to sign up today at TravelAgentAcademy.com.