ASTA speaks out on Elimination of Carnival Travel Agent Air Commissions

In the wake of the announcement by Carnival Corp. that effective for new bookings made on or after October 15, 2007, the Carnival brands will no longer pay commissions to U.S. and Canadian travel agents on the airline portion of agency sales, ASTA expressed its disappointment, noting that the policy "does not represent a financial disaster for our members" and cautioned against other events that could radically destabilize the cruise lines' position in the travel marketplace.

In its statement, ASTA said:

ASTA is obviously disappointed in the announcement by Carnival Corp. that its related cruise lines will cease paying commission on cruise-related air services booked through Carnival. Although this policy change by Carnival Corp. does not represent a financial disaster for our members, it does strike at their potential earnings which can only be viewed as a negative factor in our relationships.

Furthermore, it represents a disservice to our clients in booking Carnival's products and is likely to create an inconvenience to many cruise passengers. Additionally, it will further erode the usefulness of the Carnival air-cruise package service by creating a further disincentive for agents to book it and by diminishing the usefulness of the Carnival product in the eyes of many consumers. Leisure-focused agents who do not sell air will be forced to find work-arounds and further complications may be introduced into travel agency fee structures.

ASTA, on behalf of its members, continues to be concerned with other issues that could radically destabilize the position of cruise lines in the leisure marketplace. One of these is surely the continuing erosion of agency earning potentials created by the growth of non-commissionable charges.

Travel agents' value to both cruise consumers and cruise lines is recognized as vitally indispensable to the continued success of this industry, as acknowledged in Carnival's statement that "all our brands remain committed to compensating travel agents for the valuable role they play in selling cruises." Travel agents, and cruise lines, need to keep their eye on the prize. Travel agents are the rock that anchors the cruise industry's ability to move its rapidly expanding cruise product in economic conditions that are fluctuating frequently and widely. Travel agents' value to both cruise consumers and cruise lines is widely recognized and must be respected by the cruise lines.

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