Editor's Note: This is the third edition of a new weekly column speaking to travel agents from one of the most respected voices in the travel industry, Tammy Levent. The CEO of Elite Travel brings a trusted, in-the-trenches voice of advice and counsel, having started Elite with no capital and no connections and building the agency into one of the most formidable in the industry, expanding and succeeding in sectors across the travel spectrum.
Dear Tammy: Did you hear?!?! Delta Air Lines announced that they will no longer charge a fee to customers who purchase their tickets over the phone, through reservation sales or in person. I'm panicking because I make a decent chunk of change with the fees and now I'm losing this. What does this mean for travel agents?
First, do not adjust your computer screen. The smoke you see is coming from me. Of course I heard about this and it does not make me happy. Fees are an important revenue stream for many travel agents, including me, because this is the only way that we can make any income through booking airline reservations.
I hardly use Southwest Airlines for the same reason - they do not charge reservation fees, nor do they charge fees when a customer wants to change their itinerary. As a result, our customers can bypass us and book directly with Southwest, and now with Delta.
Delta previously charged a fee of $25 per ticket when purchased over the phone through Reservation Sales and $35 per ticket when purchased at airports and other ticket office locations. However, Delta says that the fee waiver does not apply to tickets issued in select European locations. Even still, there is the possibility that other airlines can become copycats and start to do the same thing.
Until we know for sure what kind of ramifications this will have on the industry, all we can do is promote the benefit of using a travel agent to our customers. Delta's incoming president, Glen Hauenstein, said in a statement, "It is much simpler for our customers to not have to worry if they will pay a fee for ticketing with Delta."
Of course it is, but this isn't the whole picture of using a travel agent. Yes, our customers can call Delta Air Lines directly, but they aren't going to have someone comparing prices for them only to find out that there is a cheaper or more convenient ride somewhere else. Delta isn't going to charge a fee, but they aren't going to care whether or not you chose the right flight that left you enough of time to make your cruise.
And while customers are busy paying attention to the airlines that dropped their fees, they may miss the fact that those same airlines hiked other fees. For example, Southwest, increased the cost of its EarlyBird Check-In fee by 20 percent to $15 one-way, up from $12.50.
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