TravelMole Interview: Sandy MacPherson, ABTA

British Airways’ announcement that it is to replace sector payments with 1% commission for all bookings means agents must start charging fees, says ABTA’s aviation board director Sandy MacPherson.

Speaking to TravelMole, Mr MacPherson said he was staggered by the BA announcement which had come with almost no warning, and which is not open for debate.

He pointed out that the change, due to be introduced on December 1, meant BA was rewarding the agents who had carried on supporting it despite the introduction of the controversial Fresh Approach scheme by “eroding their future income”.

And he said that the fact that there is just three months before the new scheme is introduced means agents simply do not have enough time to change their business plans. He said: “The only thing we can do in all truth is focus more on charging fees. More and more agents are coming to terms with them.

“But one of the real annoyances is that three months notice is not nearly long enough. It’s not long enough to start convincing clients of the value of service fees. And I am concerned not only of the time frame for agents but also for BA – changing their systems is quite an involved process.”

Mr MacPherson expressed his opinion that the BA move had been forced on the sales team from above and against their wishes. “My own feeling is that the sales team has not been given an option on this.”

He said a better idea would have been to reduce commission on domestic and shorthaul routes where BA faced competition from no-frills carriers, and to keep existing payments for long haul routes and premium class tickets. “The whole thrust of what BA is saying is that they want to compete with the low cost carriers. But they are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

He added: “BA needs to make its mind up. Is it a no frills carrier or a full service airline? The whole shape of the airline is not geared up for the business to be no frills so why do travel agents always have to be the first line of attack?”

Commenting on the likelihood of agents switch-selling away from BA as never before, Mr MacPherson commented: “Inevitably people will look around for where they can get the best renumeration. It is a commercial decision that agents have to make on their own.”

See our previous stories:
29-Aug-2003 BA to ditch Fresh Approach
12 Dec 2002 ABTA loses case against BA
13 Feb 2002 BA cuts Fresh Approach payments
23 Jan 2002 BA and ABTA at loggerheads over Fresh Approach
08 Jan 2002 ABTA tries to calm Fresh Approach fears