Читать книгу Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business - Barbara Braidwood Susan Boyce & Richard Cropp - Страница 29

Airlines come in all sizes and use a multitude of equipment. Some, such as the national airlines and megacarriers, serve hundreds of locations, are well known, and maintain their own sales staff to sell directly to the public. Good examples are American Airlines or Air Canada. Some large airlines do not sell to the public at all, but charter their planes to other companies that in turn sell seats to tour operators, travel agencies, and the public. They receive little public recognition, but these charter airlines have a major impact on seat availability, especially to popular destinations during peak times (e.g., to Europe during the summer months or to hot spots during the winter).

Most airlines selling through tour operators and agencies adhere to the rules and regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which governs everything from commission rates to ticketing restrictions. Typically, airlines pay a commission to the tour operator or travel agency that sells tickets on its flights. Commissions for selling tickets start at 5 percent with a cap on the maximum amount you can earn that varies for domestic and international tickets. Be aware that there are many exceptions. As well, airlines are notorious for changing commission rates. You may find a profitable tour is suddenly no longer worth the effort because the airline changed its commission structure overnight. Keep current.

Some airlines (particularly charter companies) use net pricing, a method of selling in which the airline acts as a wholesaler, setting a ticket price for an intermediate buyer (a tour operator or travel agency, not the general public). The buyer then sells the ticket for whatever price the market will bear or packages the ticket with one or more other travel products and resells this package to the public after adding a profit. In the end, a tour operator will earn about the same amount from commissions or net pricing.

Airlines also pay higher incentive commissions, called overrides, if an agency’s volume is high enough or if it belongs to a consortium (a group of agencies acting as one high-volume buyer to get higher commission rates). Usually overrides are on a sliding scale and open to negotiation. They are also subject to sudden termination or modifications as market conditions change.

If you are an independent contractor running someone else’s tour, you probably will not know what kind of commission your company gets. However, when you put your own tours together, the rate of commission will be all-important when you decide what price to charge for the tour package. You must be sure you are making enough per ticket to cover all your expenses and still make a profit. If you are putting together your own tours through a travel agency, the override commission rate is something you should take into consideration when you are selecting an agency to work with (for more on this, see chapter 11). Overrides allow you to make a little extra money to compensate for other elements of your tour that may not generate much cash.