BA Holidays Scraps Agent Pay

Starting April 1, agents will no longer be able to book commissionable British airways holidays products.

In a Feb. 4 letter to agents, British airways holidays, a wholly owned subsidiary of the airline, said it would “no longer be possible for travel agents to book British airways holidays products,” adding that the company was withdrawing its commission program.

Canceling its agent program “is a result of us responding to the business changing,” said Shauna Sullivan, manager of British airways holidays, north America. “With the advancement of technology, we’re moving down this road, which is dynamic packaging.”

According to British airways holidays, sales from travel agents have declined 67 percent since 2004. Of the U.S. travel agents that booked with the packager, 61 percent made only one booking a year, “which indicates a reliance on other suppliers and confirmed our belief that there would be minimal impact of discontinuing the commission program on the travel agency businesses,” Sullivan said.

British Airways holidays is not taking any new agent bookings for departures after March 31. The packager will, however, continue to allow new bookings for all travel completed by March 31. On April 1, agents will no longer have access to British airways holidays’ agent booking site, http://www.bahtraveltrade.com/. The company said it would honor any existing bookings with travel dates after April 1.

Additionally, British airways holidays will offer a greater selection of suppliers in each of its product categories: hotels, cars, sightseeing and transfers. According to Sullivan, packages also will have a wider price range to attract a broader customer base. In the longer term, she said, British airways holidays will look into adding destinations.