BREAKING NEWS: Virgin Express abolishes commission
Low cost carrier Virgin Express is to abandon commission payments to travel agents from April 1.
The Brussels-based airline said the move to zero commission from nine per cent followed similar cuts by rival airlines and to “stabilise” its distribution costs.
A euro 10 handling fee being imposed on customers booking direct is being waived for travel agents.
The airline said that more than 14% of bookings made via its website were generated by agents in 2004. Nearly 70% of all bookings last year were online, a figure the airline wants to see rise to 90% by the end of 2005.
Commercial director Paul Sies said: “Virgin Express has always paid at least average commission levels to its travel agent partners. In addition the airline supported travel agents by being the first to ensure that prices offered to the general public via the internet were always equal to those sold through agents. This was achieved by introducing a handling fee for direct bookings and by creating a special booking module for travel agencies on the website.
“However, in recent months most of our competitors have reduced their commission levels to 0%. This important change in conditions in a very competitive market forces us to move away from our previous practices and make some radical changes to our own distribution and remuneration model.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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