Amberle3 said:
The agents at the airlines sometimes seem to be unwilling to work with travel agents. I don't know why, but I know that it's true.
Keep in mind that the airlines have radically different priorities than the travel agents.
The airlines' priorities start with safety, something which travel agents never have to concern themselves with, simply because it is the airlines' responsibility and because both the airline and its regulators do a very good job assuring that safety procedures are followed. One of the aspects of safety that is relevant to this situation is that there are a number of seats on-board which cannot be assigned -- that I would never WANT to be assigned -- without a rational judgement being made as to the occupant's capability to step-up in an emergency and help others.
Another priority for the airline's is reducing their financial losses (trying to achieve profitability). The
travel agent has their own profitability to worry about, and only the largest travel agents have any concern about the profitability of the airlines they book transportation on, and even then, that concern is infinitessimal. So while it would be in the travel agent's interest to help their own customers get what they want, the airline needs to balance the concerns of all customers, as well as operational efficiency (which is yet-another thing which the travel agent can blissfully ignore, because it is solely the airline's responsibility and concern). No dig on travel agents intended here -- I would suspect greatly the business sense of a travel agent who did NOT operate in the manner I suggest.
Remember that the airlines are revenue-sharing with the travel agents, so they expect some measure of value-added on the part of the travel agent. Passing the burden of satisfying the customer onto the airline itself is counter-productive from the airline's perspective. While they still consider each mutual customer as their own, it is reasonable for them to expect some value-added from the travel agent for the money they're sharing with the travel agent, i.e., that the travel agent sets reasonable expectations and handles provision of customer service within the boundaries of the travel agent's capability, rather than foisting the situation back on the airline. For example, a good travel agent could have found alternative flights that had sufficient open, contiguous seat-assignment availability, or could have assuaged the customer's concern about getting seats together on the day of the flight, thereby safeguarding the airline's operational flexibility.
Situations like this do reveal the weakness in the travel agent industry. It has become increasingly difficult for travel agents (especially smaller travel agents) to demonstrate the value they add to the process, at least to the extent where it justifies the amount of revenue shared. In recognition of this, over the years the amount of revenue shared has been cut. In many cases, this has been followed by a marked decrease in quality of service from the travel agent (for example, more cases where the travel agent abrogates responsibility and deposits an unsatisfied customer on the supplier). We've recently discussed this on Cruise Critic -- many cruise lines are now placing far tighter controls on travel agents, in addition to cutting their commissions.
By the same token, there are some incredible travel agents out there, that not only do a great job as an agent of the airline, but provide a superior service to their mutual customers. There are gems out there... just a bit hard to find, perhaps.
