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IN OTHER NEWS
CRUISEWORLD: NOV. 7-10
12
86
15-26
www.travelweekly.com
Section 1 of 2
THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY
OCTOBER 29, 2012
PULLOUT
SEC TIO N
SPECIAL
Travel
[ PUTS DISCLOSURE ONUS ON AGENTS ]
DOT panel rejects
transparency rule
on ancillary fees
Indust r y
By Bill Poling
Sur vey
Travel Weekly’s annual survey of retail
travel sellers again reveals the trends that
drive agents and their revenue models.
Sales of international travel on the rise
By Laura Del Rosso
Among the more intriguing findings of Travel Weekly’s 2012 Travel
Industry Survey (see the full report
in this issue’s pullout section) is
that bookings by leisure agents are
increasingly dominated by trips to
foreign destinations, which produced more than 55% of agency
revenue in 2011.
The survey revealed that Europe, Mexico,
the South Pacific and other international
destinations are increasingly outpacing do-
mestic hot spots such as Las Vegas and Or-
lando as revenue generators.
The consumer committee impaneled to
advise the Transportation Department on
consumer protection issues recommended
that the DOT require all travel agents, in-
cluding online travel agents (OTAs), to
“disclose the fact that they do not offer for
sale all airlines’ tickets, if that is the case,
and that additional airlines may serve the
route being searched.”
In its Report of the Advisory Commit-
tee on Aviation Consumer Protection, the
panel also said the DOT “should ensure
transparency in air carrier pricing” but it
refrained from recommending that the
agency require airlines to include all ancil-
lary services in GDSs, as ASTA advocated.
On the issue of agency disclosure, the
committee said that “in some instances, it
may appear that a route is not served at all
because the airline or airlines serving that
route have chosen not to participate in a
particular distribution system; this can be
confusing for consumers.”
As for ancillaries, the committee said it
“encourages all participants in the industry
— airlines, distribution systems and agents
— to continue innovating with respect to
transparency and distribution of optional
products and services.”
It continued, “On the one hand, the
Committee recognizes that air travel has
changed and the days when the only vari-
ables were price and schedule are gone. Air
travel today provides a wide variety of busi-
ness models, network choices and optional
services. But with choice comes complexity
for consumers. Consequently, innovation
that makes comparison shopping easier
than it is today would benefit the public.”
The committee, chaired by Illinois Attor-
ney General Lisa Madigan and representing
consumers, airports and airlines, also rec-
ommended that the DOT upgrade its con-
sumer website and improve its handling of
consumer complaints and its protections
for disabled travelers.
