Rest assured, this is all tongue in cheek--Roots can hardly be accused of predation.

However, commissions are a phenomenon of the past, when travel agents offered real value added to the customer, and the airline. For point-to-point tickets in Canada, that's just not the case anymore, as it is easier and easier for travellers to make their own arrangments.

Where agents continue to offer value are corporate travel management; package travel sales; cruises; and cut rate international travel.

In the meantime, I doubt it will help. The majority of travel agency users are either:

1) ocassional leisure travellers, who will almost invariably go to the lowest price. Even a higher commission for the agent will not make that sale against C3K/Royal, West Jet, etc.; or

2) corporate travellers. Some will be tied to Roots already, through corporate deals (so there is no incremental traffic), some will be similarly tied to AC. The number who the agent will actually be able to win over is probably pretty marginal.

To offer high commissions across the board to win over a thin margin of traffic probably doesn't make long term sense. In the end, Roots will likely find agency commissions an unacceptable drain on their bottom line, and roll them back, just like all the other players.

[This message has been edited by AC*SE (edited 03-14-2001).]