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Regional development in airlines and travel agents relationship

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  • Alamdari, Fariba

Abstract

On average, 17% of airline operating cost are attributed to distribution costs which are associated with commissions to travel agents, ticketing, credit card fees, CRS fees and promotion. In recent years, airlines in North America and in Europe have been questioning the role of travel agents in the distribution chain and renegotiating commission fee structures. As a result, some large agents have introduced a management fee philosophy where the clients, especially corporations, pay a fee to the travel agent in return for predetermined services. Such services include providing up-to-the minute reports on travel patterns of employees, effectiveness of travel policies, advice on complicated itineraries, etc. Such changes in airline and travel agent relationships initially started in the US and were followed by the European carriers. However, Asian carriers have been slow in following their US and European counterparts. This raises a number of questions: What are the barriers, if any for Asian carriers, to follow their counter parts in Europe and US? Would airlines in the three regions be able to bypass travel agents and sell directly to their customers? Would the customers prefer to go direct to airlines? Would there be a variation in the airlines, and agents, relationship in each region? This paper addresses these questions by analysing the distribution strategies of major carriers in the US, Europe and Asia. It also discusses the changing relationship between airlines and travel agents, and the trend towards direct selling by airlines in each region.

Suggested Citation

  • Alamdari, Fariba, 2002. "Regional development in airlines and travel agents relationship," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(5), pages 339-348.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:8:y:2002:i:5:p:339-348
    DOI: 10.1016/S0969-6997(02)00014-5
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    1. Mason, Keith J., 2001. "Marketing low-cost airline services to business travellers," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 103-109.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Yang, Yong, 2012. "Agglomeration density and tourism development in China: An empirical research based on dynamic panel data model," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1347-1359.
    4. Kamal Sanguri & Atanu Bhuyan & Sabyasachi Patra, 2020. "A semantic similarity adjusted document co-citation analysis: a case of tourism supply chain," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(1), pages 233-269, October.
    5. Lu, Qiang (Steven) & Yang, Yupin & Yuksel, Ulku, 2015. "The impact of a new online channel: An empirical study," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 136-155.
    6. Merkert, Rico & Hakim, Md Mahbubul, 2022. "Travel agency transaction costs in airline value chains – A risk in distribution channels in South Asia?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    7. Piotr Niewiadomski, 2013. "International airline groups in Africa," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-36, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    8. Harison, Elad & Boonstra, Albert, 2008. "Reaching new altitudes in e-commerce: Assessing the performance of airline websites," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 92-98.
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    12. Gustafson, Per, 2012. "Managing business travel: Developments and dilemmas in corporate travel management," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 276-284.
    13. Chen, Lu & Li, Yong-Quan & Liu, Chih-Hsing, 2019. "How airline service quality determines the quantity of repurchase intention - Mediate and moderate effects of brand quality and perceived value," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 185-197.
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    15. Zhang, Qiong & Yang, Hangjun & Wang, Qiang, 2017. "Impact of high-speed rail on China’s Big Three airlines," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 77-85.
    16. Kovačić Nataša & Topolšek Darja & Dragan Dejan, 2015. "Tourism sector, Travel agencies, and Transport Suppliers: Comparison of Different Estimators in the Structural Equation Modeling," Logistics, Supply Chain, Sustainability and Global Challenges, Sciendo, vol. 6(1), pages 11-24, November.
    17. Yin Chen & Yong Long & Jianyin Bai, 2019. "Effect of Positional Embeddedness on Tour Supplier Integration: Chinese Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
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