GBTA WELCOMES SUMMER DEADLINE
FOR AIR TRAVEL COST-CUTTING
UK companies doing business overseas could see the first tentative steps towards European legal changes this summer, which may eventually cut the cost of international travel, says the influential Guild of Business Travel Agents.
The European Commission has overhauled two key sections of the EC Treaty in a bid to increase intra-European competition – a move that looks set to force world airlines to revise the way they regulate commercial aviation.
At present, the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents around 280 of the world's top airlines and dictates who is allowed to sell issue their tickets, has different rules for each of the 25 European Union member states.
The European Commission has now given IATA a July 19 deadline to come up with a “minimum set of harmonised criteria” covering the whole of the EU.
“IATA only allows its member airlines' tickets to be sold through accredited agents,” explains the Guild's chief executive Philip Carlisle, “and the accreditation process varies from country to country.
“As companies have expanded across international borders, however, the GBTA's travel management companies have also become multinationals. As a consequence, the costs involved in winning, and complying with, a host of subtly-different accreditations are enormous.”
The situation is further complicated by IATA's insistence that tickets can only be purchased at the fare applicable in the country from which the ticket is issued. UK agents are not currently allowed to buy tickets at “local” prices, which are often substantially lower than those charged in Britain.
Therefore, if a London-based multinational wants its French, Italian and German sales managers to attend a meeting in the UK, British fare levels apply even though the tickets would be cheaper in the travellers' countries of origin.
Historically, international companies frequently used different agents in different countries, but today's leading travel management companies have “gone global” to help their clients save money.
“If IATA can be persuaded – or forced - to come up with a pan-European accreditation system, travel management companies' process costs will be reduced dramatically,” says Carlisle. “Those savings can then be passed on to client companies.
“And if the cost of doing business overseas is brought down, more companies will do more of it, with concomitant benefits to the UK economy.”
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For further media information: Vanessa Aves, Brighter PR, tel: 0207 603 2168, mob: 07721 413358