TRAVEL AGENTS RESPOND TO AIRLINE COMMISSION CUTS WITH NATIONWIDE DAY OF AWARENESS
Hundreds of travel agencies across the country will close their doors for two hours as part of a Nationwide Day of Awareness led by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Slated for Thursday, Aug. 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, the action is a response to moves by several major U.S. carriers to drive travel agents the last unbiased source of travel information out of business by cutting their compensation and raising their costs.
As part of this political charge, travel agents will participate in political action and consumer awareness events, such as informational picketing at airports and visits to Congressional representatives in their home offices, in an effort to educate the traveling public about the value of using a travel agent.
The planned Nationwide Day of Awareness is one part of a seven-prong ASTA initiative called Operation CARE (Campaign for Agent Rights and Equality), which includes seeking a meeting with the Secretary of Transportation, among other measures designed to help agents counteract the commission cuts.
The purpose of this action is to raise awareness of the airlines attempt to deprive consumers of their preferred method of purchasing air transportation and their only source of neutral price and service options. Our battle cry will be, Without a travel agent, you're on your own.®
Travel agents are crucial to ensuring that consumers continue to have access to a range of travel options and that competition in the airline industry is preserved. They serve as the only neutral source of information and counseling about an incredibly complex array of fares and services; they facilitate competition among existing and new airlines; and they promote the use of air transportation services, resulting in a healthier air transportation system.
Hundreds of travel agencies across the country will close their doors for two hours as part of a Nationwide Day of Awareness led by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Slated for Thursday, Aug. 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. ET, the action is a response to moves by several major U.S. carriers to drive travel agents the last unbiased source of travel information out of business by cutting their compensation and raising their costs.
As part of this political charge, travel agents will participate in political action and consumer awareness events, such as informational picketing at airports and visits to Congressional representatives in their home offices, in an effort to educate the traveling public about the value of using a travel agent.
The planned Nationwide Day of Awareness is one part of a seven-prong ASTA initiative called Operation CARE (Campaign for Agent Rights and Equality), which includes seeking a meeting with the Secretary of Transportation, among other measures designed to help agents counteract the commission cuts.
The purpose of this action is to raise awareness of the airlines attempt to deprive consumers of their preferred method of purchasing air transportation and their only source of neutral price and service options. Our battle cry will be, Without a travel agent, you're on your own.®
Travel agents are crucial to ensuring that consumers continue to have access to a range of travel options and that competition in the airline industry is preserved. They serve as the only neutral source of information and counseling about an incredibly complex array of fares and services; they facilitate competition among existing and new airlines; and they promote the use of air transportation services, resulting in a healthier air transportation system.
