Travel agents in Singapore are faced with a dilemma from the world's best airline. You guessed it. Singapore Airlines has introduced ZERO commissions on all its published fares (which include Business, First and RTW fares)from Singapore. Agents are faced with having to ask between $50 to $200 for each booking they make on their national carrier. To top it off, the airlines themselves are also charging similar fees if you go to them to issue a paper ticket. You will not be charged the fees if you do an E-Ticket. Which incidentally, in Singapore is almost as complicated as issuing a paper ticket! You simply cannot just order a ticket over the phone. You need to fax your creditcard details over and to photocopy and fax your credit card (both front and back) to the ticket office. SQ will then fax you an itinerary which you must show the check-in agent when you check-in. This is all fine and dandy if you're just limited to one airline but what happens to fully endorsable tickets? Well, you'll just have to pay the service fee. How much?

Within South-East Asia, it's S$50. Beyond that, it's S$200. So if you're issuing a oneway ticket to Kuala Lumpur, which costs S$167. Add the tax of S$15 and the service fee of S$50, you might as well drive there.

Other airlines are monitoring SQ's trial in this but it seems to be contagious already. Cathay and Qantas are lowering their commissions to 5% (with no cap though) effective 1st Dec. Other airlines have maintained their 9% commissions or more.

SQ already charges the highest fares from Singapore - since it's the home airline and there is no competition. (Do you hear that Onex?) Travel agents in Singapore are avoiding selling SQ unless their clients insist on it. Even so, most reel at the fact that they have to pay extra for the service fees. It really does not justify.

The ironic thing is that SQ offers the cheapest fares from outside Singapore to anywhere else it flies. Maybe it's gotten to its head that since they are joining the STAR alliance now that they can do what they want.

They would never dare do this anywhere else in the world!