Business Travel Coalition Poll

Today in Chicago a group of corporate travel managers, TMC executives and other concerned industry participants will meet to discuss the Air Canada Tango controversy. I will report on the gathering in tomorrow’s blog. One subject we will most certainly discuss are the results of a recent Poll regarding steps individual travel agents and travel managers are taking in the marketplace to communicate their displeasure with Air Canada’s actions. Those results follow.

Between June 25 and June 30, 2006 the Business Travel Coalition conducted a poll of travel agents and travel managers to determine what steps are being taken in the marketplace to communicate to Air Canada the industry’s dissatisfaction with the airline’s removal of its Tango fares from the GDSs. Twenty-one corporate travel managers and twenty-four travel agents participated in the poll.

Poll Results

I. I have taken the following independent steps to register my dissatisfaction with treatment by Air Canada: (all that apply)

31 (22%)  Investigated alternative airlines.                                                            
31 (31%)  Stopped using / selling AC whenever alternatives exist.                         
18 (13%)  Voiced concerns to my AC representative.       
24 (17%)  Asked my industry Association to defend my company’s interest.                      
23 (16%)  Was a Signatory to an industry letter to AC.                                                      
  9   (6%)  Attended / listened over the Internet to the ACTA / BTC Toronto conference.       
3    (2%)  Contacted elected officials / regulators.                                                            
1    (1%)  Wrote a letter to my local newspaper. 

COMMENTS

• I will only book AC only when it is absolutely necessary; I book United as they have almost the same choice.

• WestJet loves Travel Agents!

• I would love to tell my AC representative, if I ever saw him/her!

• As far as I can see the sooner we can do without AC the better. They continually cause disruption and controversy. My clients do not want to use them if there is any other option.

• Dealing with the staff as they are so miserable to both clients and agents is terrible; the less I have to do with them the better. When we do call it is like we are interrupting them and they have no concern regarding the clients or the agents. They cannot be bothered. This has come through loud and clear. Until I see an attitude adjustment I will do whatever I can to encourage my clients and everyone else to not use AC. So put the fares back or not I am done with them. I am tired of being abused by them and dealing with the unhappy clients that have the misfortune to have to fly with them.

• We do not do volunteer work for any airline; only if there is no alternative do we sell zero-commission services.

II. Since May 3, my organization independently moved business away from AC in the approximate amount of:

28 (80%)  $1,000 to $100,000 (Canadian dollars)
  5 (15%)  $101,000 to $200,000
  2   (6%)  $201,000 to $300,000            

COMMENTS

• We reduced our domestic traffic on Air Canada by 42%.

• I am not sure of amount, but AC is almost becoming irrelevant in my office.

• We are a small agency but if you look at percentage, and not dollars, you can see I have moved as much as possible away from them.

III. Other steps my organization has taken:

COMMENTS

• Weekly conversations with my TMC regarding fragmentation costs.

• Increased the use of web meetings because our strict internal company policy requires that employees book their travel through a designated agency so we can locate them in the event of an emergency. We have reiterated to all travelers that they are not to use the AC Website directly.

• We now must allow travelers to bypass the newly installed self-booking tool and this increases the transaction cost to our company because they now secure travel arrangements with our preferred agency.

• To offset some of these increased expenses caused by the Air Canada action, we have cut back on some travel.

• Opted with lower fares with competitors such as WestJet in Canada and on trans border routes.

• Investigated web scraping for on-line reservations; encouraged Agency to participate/communicate on our behalf.

• I try not to sell AC in other markets as well, e.g., international destinations.

• Held a conference call for all clients. Prepared a template of a letter for our clients to send AC directly.

• Encouraged use of online tool that can search ac.com. Encouraged agency partner to offer online search capability through their process.

• Posted a sign regretfully informing our customers that we have been banned from the least expensive fares by Air Canada and that they will have to book AC themselves. (Very regretfully since many clients have no access to the web or do not have a credit card.)

• I book WestJet, CanJet, United, US Airways; anybody but AC when possible.

• Other than reducing our sales to AC to show our dissatisfaction we as an organization have no other option.

• We do not offer Tango fares to customers, ever.

• We have been telling clients what Air Canada did and what the effect may be on them.

• I am not selling them so I need no other steps.