Industry related article:
from www.cadvision.com, didn't specify original source
Canada Sat Jan 22, 11:18 pm
Online threat to travel agents' bottom line
Regardless of the destination, a growing number of Canadians are starting their holidays in the same place: on the Internet. It's a trend that has some travel agents worried.
About nine per cent of Canadians who surf the Web booked flights online last year, according to the latest statistics.
Industry analysts predict the figure will increase, along with the anxiety of some travel agents worried about losing business.
"Any time you have a change in technology, you have the potential of jobs being at risk," says Ron Pradinuk, of the Association of Canadian Travel Agents in Winnipeg.
Web sites run by airlines are the biggest concern for travel agents, according to Pradinuk, because they offer cheap flights without bothering to give travel firms advance notice.
Air Canada, Canadian, and other companies wind up getting passengers without paying commission on the tickets, he says.
Some customers, such as book editor Michael Mouland, are on special e-mail lists, and receive regular notices about the latest weekend "websaver" fares.
He got interested in Internet reservations while monitoring flight information during a snow storm, rebooking after his plane was grounded at the last minute.
"There are some pretty good deals," Mouland says, while browsing for bargains on his computer in Toronto. "Probably $100 off, let's say, a flight to New York."
Pradinuk argues that what the airlines are doing isn't fair, because they're siphoning off a portion of business from companies that are required to invest in costly and sophisticated reservation systems.
But the airlines disagree, pointing out that they're simply responding to customer demand.
"This is what the consumer is asking us for," says Laura Cooke, a spokeswoman for Air Canada. "We prepare and develop products and services that our customer is asking us for."
The dispute will probably be settled by Ottawa. Travel agents have complained about the Web sites to the federal government, which has promised to consider their concerns when it reviews planned restructuring of the airline industry later this year.
Regards, t. |
