TRAVEL agents are more likely to book an airline with flexible booking terms and conditions, based on the results of a recent industry survey by Travel News.
Obviously the trend is fuelled by horror stories of Covid-driven cancellations and clients’ fear of the rigidity of the usual non-refundability conditions. And opinion is divided on how long it will take for customers to return to wanting the cheapest fare.
An overwhelming 41% of agents who participated said flexible booking T&Cs, specifically ‘the ability to make ANY change up to 24 hours before the flight, free,’ was the most important factor when making a booking.
Cheapest fare was also important - but, only 31% of respondents ranked that as the most important.
Bookability on the GDS was the third choice, selected as the most important by 21% of agents.
A preferred agreement with the carrier was crucial to only 5% of the respondents. 2% of agents felt that their relationship with airline staff would be the most important factor in persuading them to book that airline for a client.
Flexibility – what’s the real cost?
“Flexibility” is an industry buzzword this year, as trade partners and suppliers, especially airlines, navigate their way through global Covid-19 recovery.
In a bid to boost consumer confidence, some airlines are amending their booking T&Cs, with room for changes and, even, free cancellations up to 24 hours in advance . However, a quick scan of some airline websites revealed that a full refund is not necessarily guaranteed and that customers might need to settle for a credit for a future booking.
So what may appear to be free cancellation, can carry a hidden cost.
XL Travel Group ceo, Marco Ciocchetti, said the poll results were cause for concern. He said: “I’m shocked. It shows the communication problem that the industry has. .If you don’t have a relationship with the supplier, the customer may as well go direct. Through our relationships, we solve problems. It (the poll result) suggests that there is not enough communication between management and the consultants.” He added: “If we don’t have preferred agreements, you, the consultant, won’t get a salary.”
Ciocchetti said he believed it wouldn’t be sustainable for airlines to offer free changes and cancellations on every fare class. If that was the case, there would be less choice because of fewer fare classes, and in the long run airlines could be forced to aggregate inventory and charge more for the entire cabin. And that, Ciocchetti said, would end up costing travellers more.
One way of looking at the different fare class rules is to view them as variable admin fees. “Everyone charges an admin fee… As a client, I would rather pay a slightly higher fare… as I can change things up to 24 hours before departure and not have to pay in,” Ciocchetti said.
“All the people who bought tickets pre-Covid have been given the value of the ticket for transportation for two years… If they book today and the plane doesn’t have the same fare class available, they have to pay the difference… It’s more than reasonable - otherwise, an airline would not have different fare price buckets. If you book early, you get a better price. If you book late, it is more expensive. The only way you could make it completely flexible is if you make the entire cabin the same price.”
Cioccetti said agents should educate their customers about the exchange. “If you phone me and say that you want to travel to Europe in August and, as an agent I know that it’s a busy month and that the customer may need to change their return date, then it is my duty to say that I can get them the cheapest fare now but, if they arrive and then need to change (of their return) and the plane is full, then they are going to pay a lot!”
CEO of Asata, Otto de Vries, mused whether the results were simply a reflection of current customer demands. He said: “The result of the poll is evidently what the consultant is seeing their customer ask for. Flexibility came out in our study as well (referring to the findings of Asata’s latest 21st Century Travel Agent study). There is no doubt in my mind that it ranks extremely high for customers.”
Otto said it’s impossible to know how long this trend will last and when customers will return to seeing more value in things like pricing.
