Peter Barlow - Chair Phone: +04 496 4898 Email

For Release Monday December 20, 2010

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December 20, 2010 - What can travel agents wish for IATA in 2011?
2010 was yet another year where IATA agents experienced difficulties with dubious airline practices allowed under the IATA Agency Programme, with unfavourable procedures forced upon agents and with uncooperative management by IATA. Meanwhile, the IATA Agency Programme has lost since 2007 alarming numbers of agents.

Two new issues arose in recent weeks. Firstly, American Airlines announced that it will debit surcharges on bookings made through the reservation systems Travelport (outside the USA and Caribbean). This follows a commercial dispute between American Airlines and Travelport. AA's policy raises several important issues. One of them is the use of IATA Agent Debit Memos (ADMs) to debit the surcharges from agents. WTAAA wrote to IATA to denounce this use of ADMs. ADMs enable airlines to debit agents in order to correct ticketing errors. But ADMs must not be used in relation with bookings, nor to impose on agents the commercial policy of one IATA member airline that is irrelevant to the IATA Programme. According to IATA's answer, American Airlines has consulted agents on this use of ADMs, simply by sending them a letter on 17 November 2010. WTAAA cannot agree with this concept of "consultation". We also maintain that IATA tools sanctioning agents cannot be used to enforce one airline's commercial policy that is irrelevant to the IATA Agency Programme. This could even raise anti-trust concerns.

The second issue regards the local financial criteria that travel agents must fulfil in order to hold an IATA accreditation. Currently, travel agents' views are systematically taken into consideration when amending those criteria. This could change. IATA airlines are considering granting themselves the authority to unilaterally modify those financial criteria, notably if agents would not quickly ratify airlines' views in preliminary negotiations to review local criteria. Airlines' decision on their unilateral authority will be finalised on 14 January 2011. Yet, travel agents' recommendations on local financial criteria have been a fundamental safeguard against airlines and IATA imposing onerous requirements on travel agents. The participation of agents in this process is all the more important as they cannot avoid the IATA Passenger Agency Programme to distribute air tickets at a large scale. Again, IATA must keep in mind that it bears the responsibility of a super-dominant association of undertakings under competition legislation.

So what can travel agents wish for IATA in 2011? Firstly that it reconsiders its stand on the two latest issues, which we will refer to competition authorities. And further, it is becoming urgent that IATA rethinks how travel agents' views and interests are taken into consideration in the IATA Agency Programme's governance, while agents are airlines' valuable business partners and are affected in the first place by this Programme.

Best wishes for the festive season!