Turkish Airlines, which was one of the last airlines to pay upfront commission to agents in the BSPZA market, has decreased this payment to 0,1% per ticket issued effective from October 1.
“While this decision has financial implications for you, our partners, we will be working on solutions that we are confident will serve as an alternative to the commission reduction,” said the airline in a release distributed to trade partners.
Turkish Airlines’ announcement follows the decision by Emirates last month to reduce its upfront commission from 5% to 0,01%.
Andrew Stark, md of FCTG MEA, said the withdrawal of upfront commission could not have come at a worse time for the industry, which needed fair remuneration from their partners at this time to revive the industry.
“Cost-cutting moves of this nature from suppliers are likely to accelerate further consolidation in the industry as the strength of consortium negotiations at this time will become more important than ever,” said Andrew.
Ceo of Tourvest’s Travelit division, Philip Katz, said the withdrawal of upfront commission was likely motivated by airlines looking to cut costs, as every dollar was counted at a time like this when the industry was under such pressure.
“At TTS, our Travelit platform analyses airline offerings and presents quotes on a level playing field for clients, highlighting the various cost savings that would result from particular booking selections. As this method is completely transparent, Travelit booking trends are unlikely to change due to the withdrawal of commission. This cannot be said across the industry, however, as many consultants are highly motivated by upfront commission earnings,” said Philip.
Owner of Travel with Attitude, Martin Wheeler, said the withdrawal of commission was unfortunate and that it would be a disincentive to a certain extent but it was to be expected as it was in line with the offerings of most carriers in the market. Martin added that Turkish Airlines had done an amazing job during lockdown with its repatriation flights and that his view of the airline had really changed during this time.
“I think they have won over many agents during the last few months due to improvement in their service and communications and that their extensive route network and product offering will balance any negativity that may be immediately felt in the market by the reduction in their commission offering,” said Martin.
Turkish Airlines sales representative, Louzya Garnett, said the carrier wanted to assure the travel trade that its aim was to work together to provide continued support and service to its valued travel trade partners.
