Commission Cuts Aren’t the Ticket

This is in reference to the recent travel agents’ commission cap that was instituted by Delta Air Lines on Feb. 9 and copied by American, Northwest and United airlines (“Sky Caps: Travel Agents Incensed at Moves to Cut Commissions,” Feb. 11).

As a travel agent in the Century City area in an office of about 40-plus agents, I will try to describe what I do in an eight-hour day for my clients who fly on the above airlines: arrange flight schedules to fit their timely needs; deliver tickets; arrange limousines in all cities; arrange all rental cars, hotel reservations, dinner reservations, meeting space and catering services; make sure the right in-room services and amenities have been ordered; make sure that the upgrade to the next class of service has been completed on time.

What is going to happen to the kind of services that travel agents have given to their clients for many years? And all the people in the background who make all this work? A lot of agencies are going to lose their businesses.

We make 10 cents on the dollar in such instances. Do you think that we keep 10%? We pay all of our employees so that we can make all the above operations work for the clients to fly on American, United and Delta. Airlines cannot possibly do what we do today. They are not set up and trained to do what we do. It takes many years to develop the skills that we have gathered over all the time in this industry.

Also, if you call American to get a quote on service between two city pairs, they are only going to give you their rates. Maybe TWA is less expensive. So this means that people are going to spend many hours in a day just to find out the simplest of things related to travel.

We have also promoted the airlines and sold tickets to worldwide destinations and completed the rest of the services needed to make a pleasurable trip. Now we are being told that we’re making tons and tons of money when most of us drive 10-year-old cars and live in apartments like the majority of the world. I wonder where the airline executives live?

LEIGH PADILLA

Century City