Originally Posted by
BackSlash3
So there's a cost to becoming a travel agent and a system in place to keep people like us from becoming our own travel agent and booking directly on the GDS.
So then what is stopping an existing travel agent from taking on the flyertalk niche? Isn't there money to be made here?
Or do you think that we're just too cheap to pay travel agent fees to book overly complicated tickets; that fees to make the booking process easier than manipulating airlines websites would screw up our cpm?
Those looking for a MR are not going to pay what agents need to charge. Very few options exist for a travel agent to get a commission on an air fare. Its not impossible, but its few. And at least with my agency I'm with, the favorite options for this I honestly would never use to book my own fare as I can get cheaper pricing by booking directly with the airline because they seem to have just added the commission onto the price of the airfare. And once its commission, you will pay income on it. There by cutting deeper.
So yes, this would be something you can look at, but there are many very valid reason why agents are not capitalizing on the mileage run market. Its just not worth the time and effort when you have to add a service charge to the ticket price on something that is being purchased strictly because of its price in the first place.