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Agents find it hard to provide an airline cheap Florida ticket"AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET"
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"AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET" 2/11/2000 Feb. 11--Elsa Cristobal and her staff at Travel Network of Kendall booked airline tickets and vacations like crazy last year, turning in 23 percent more sales volume than in 1998. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET But because Cristobal's average commissions took a nosedive, her agency's earnings inched up only 4 percent. And despite a booming economy and travel market, this year could be worse. Travel agencies in South Florida, as well as nationwide, are facing their toughest times ever. Airline commission cuts and caps and the growing popularity of the Internet have slashed their livelihoods, leaving many businesses struggling to re-invent themselves and survive. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET "A lot of travel agencies have lost their hope about making a living in this business," Cristobal said. To cope, most agencies are now charging service fees and finding niches selling more lucrative tour packages and cruises. Some are merging into consortiums or joining a franchise group. Many are cutting costs by reducing their staffs, or working from home. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET Industry observers say a shakeout is under way. At the same time, the average travel agency has lost more than 50 percent of its value during the last five years. "Industries go through changes, and this industry is going through a monumental one," said James Ashurst, spokesman for the American Society of Travel Agents. Unquestionably, the businesses hardest hit are the small mom-and-pop retail agencies that comprise the vast majority of the industry. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET Teresa Zorrilla, who owns Clark Travel and Tours in Miami, is now generating half has much revenue as she did two years ago, and has watched her profits evaporate. "You have to love this business very much to keep doing it," she said. Major carriers have been slicing away at commissions since 1995, first capping 10 percent commissions at $50 for roundtrip domestic flights that year, then cutting the base rate on domestic and international fares from 10 percent to 8 percent in 1997. In 1998, airlines began capping international tickets at $100 roundtrip. And most recently, in October, most airlines dropped commissions to 5 percent, while keeping the caps in place. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET That means an agent who earned a $37.50 commission on a $375 fare from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles five years ago now makes $18.50. Air carriers say the cuts and caps are geared toward reducing distribution costs. United Airlines, for example, which initiated the last three actions, said in October it expects to save $150 million a year. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET Nevertheless, a handful of carriers, like Southwest Airlines and the new National Airlines, continue to pay 10 percent, as does British Airways, on economy fares booked in the United States. Travel agencies still sell about 80 percent of all airline tickets. But airlines are increasingly steering consumers to their Web sites, where carriers such as Delta Air Lines have offered a 5 percent discount, and others, such as USAirways and American Airlines, offer weekly special Web fares. Consumers are also booking airline reservations directly through such travel Web sites as Travelocity.com, Expedia.com and Lowestfare.com. "The airline industry is an industry with very high fixed costs -- fuel is high, labor, distribution costs. And it is also an industry with very low profit margins, and it's a very competitive industry," said David Fuscus, spokesman for the Air Transport Association. "So airlines, not surprisingly over the past few years, have taken steps to control their distribution costs to control their overall costs and become more competitive." Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET Travel agents say they find themselves in a precarious position, with little control. Many had derived as much as 80 percent of their sales from airline tickets. To compensate for lost commissions, many South Florida agencies, including Travel Network of Kendall, have recently started to charge consumers a $10 per ticket service fee. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET At Coral Gables' Around the World Travel, corporate clients can pay as much as $15 to $25 per ticket, depending on negotiated rates, said Hector F. de Lara Jr., regional vice president of operations. "Fees are the industry rule rather than the exception at this point," ASTA's Ashurst said. In fact, more than 75 percent of all agents nationwide now charge a fee, averaging $10. AIRLINE CHEAP FLORIDA TICKET Agents are only doing what other providers of personal service, such as accountants and lawyers have done all along, Ashurst said. And travel agents' skills go far beyond finding cheap airline tickets, he said. "Travel agents provide a professional service, they provide value and people are willing to pay for value," Ashurst said. "They save you time, they save you money."...... Compare airline cheap Florida ticket here /cheap airfares home |