Move By Airlines Puts Squeeze On Travel Agents

I recently received a letter from my travel agent saying the agency would reluctantly begin charging a $10 service fee on all future airline tickets. It said this was a direct result of the major airlines lowering the commission paid to travel agents from 10 percent to 8 percent.

That might not seem like such a big cut, but in a field where profit margins are already slim, it could be the end for many small, women-owned agencies.

I deal with a woman-owned business, and my travel agent, Tuula, has arranged flights for me for the past 15 years. In addition to saving me a great deal of money, she has done many extra things to make my travel - and my life - easier.

I will never forget that when my family and I were preparing to return home from Romania after living there for six months during the communist regime, there was no place in Timisoara to purchase an airline ticket to America. And, to complicate matters further, the only way to call long distance was collect. With more than a trace of desperation we called Tuula and she accepted the collect call, made all the arrangements and sent our tickets to us. All in a day’s work for a dedicated travel agent, but somehow I can’t see a United Airlines employee at some always-busy 800 number doing that.

Perhaps the airlines’ planned cut would be understandable if the industry itself were in financial straits, but according to a recent Travel Weekly article, airlines will earn more than $4 billion this year and air traffic is expected to grow 5 percent, attracting 20 million new passengers a year.

Whatever the airlines’ motivation, the reduction will mean increased costs to the traveler. In addition to the fee which some agencies will charge, individual ticket costs may increase as shoppers no longer have someone to help them find the best prices.

In the era of deregulation, it is important for Congress to look at this situation and determine whose interests are really being served. I, for one, will stick by my travel agent and encourage small local travel agencies to fight for their rights in the marketplace. It is the least I can do for a woman who accepted a collect call from Eastern Europe.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.