Smaller airlines see agents as key to sales

BRAD FOSS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Sensing an opportunity to increase business, many smaller airlines have not joined the country's major carriers in eliminating per-ticket commissions to travel agents.

While it remains unclear how long they can afford to hold out, executives at lower-cost and mainly regional airlines are hoping to boost ticket sales through the small travel agencies that depend heavily on the commissions.

"The industry has historically referred to travel agencies as partners, even as they've been bludgeoning them with commission cuts. We like to think we walk the talk," said Michael Conway, chairman of National Airlines, which pays a 10 percent commission for each ticket sold.

Market share

If the plan works, carriers such as Air Tran Airways, Frontier Airlines and National will steal market share from major carriers serving Atlanta, Denver and Las Vegas -- their respective hubs.

All else being equal, "I will push Air Tran more than I push Delta, but I've done that for years because they are an agent-friendly airline," said Dennis Fenton, owner of Your Travel Connection in Albany, Ga.

Cutting costs every way they can, the country's biggest airlines last week ended the decades-old tradition of paying per-ticket commissions. Analysts say it could save the industry as much as $1 billion a year.

The move could force many smaller travel companies to merge or go out of business. It will do little harm to larger agencies, which get other compensation from the airlines for meeting certain sales targets.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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