Page 1Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCAviation Consumer Protection©2012 Association of Retail Travel AgentsAll Rights Reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.The Travel Agency PerspectivePresented byBruce Bishins, CTCManaging DirectorAssociation of Retail Travel AgentsSecond MeetingWashington, DC07 August 2012“ARTA's mandate is to assure a balanced approach,leading to consumer protection which makes good sense.”Page 2Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCDisclosureThe opinions and conceptsexpressed in this presentationare solely and exclusively thoseof ARTA and are not intendedto represent the views orpolicies of other parties.Page 3Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCARTA ConcernsARTA members are concerned:that DOT will adopt minimumcustomer-service standards in relationto the sales by travel agents of airtransportation and the disclosure oftrade practices including incentives andcommissions;that travel agents will be heldaccountable by the DOT when somedata or display fault lies with GDSsbeyond the agents' control;that the DOT will regulate content andother functionality that are subject tocommercial negotiations betweenairlines and third party traveltechnology providers, including GDSs.Page 4Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCAncillary DistributionARTA Members do not want theDOT to promulgate regulations ofwhat content and functionalityshould be in the GDSs.Airlines and GDSs (just as othertravel technology providers) shouldthemselves comes to terms a partof commercial negotiations.ARTA Members do not want anyterms mandated by the DOT whichcould impact their contractualobligations which may promptGDSs to charge increased fees tosubscribers.Let the marketplace dictate whatcontent is available for sale orfunctionality.Page 5Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCConsequences of ContractsNot all content is in a GDS:“The supplier pays thefreight; you get to sell it.”Huge content gaps aremissing for small operators,low cost carriers, nonARC/BSP,and nicheproducts.Blended displays(thirdparty content)arerestricted in many GDSsgiving rise to distortedsupply and inventory.Surprisingly, most GDSscontracts havesimilarterms, incentives,clawbacks, and restrictions.They even share data onsegment performance.Page 6Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCConfused? So are we!“DOT this week announced that it fined online travel agency Travelocity $180,000 for violatingthe rule on full-fare advertising that went into effect last January. Travelocity failed to includefuel surcharges and other fees in advertised airfares, DOT said. Under its price advertising rule,“carriers and ticket agents must show the total price, including all government taxes and fees, inevery advertised fare. The rules apply to travel agents as well as airlines,” DOT said in astatement announcing the Travelocity fine.”Travel Weekly, 31 July 2012If Travelocity, owned by Sabre, can’tget its own consumer booking enginein order, how would the underlyingtechnology and programming bereliable for the GDS sector? It wouldappear to ARTA that Sabre needs to goback in the drawing board andconcentrate on the basics beforetackling ancillaries.Page 7Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCDepartment of JusticeARTA is concernedwith parallel effortsby the DOJ toassess the GDSsector.ARTA is concernedabout GDS’willingness to sharestrategic informationwith one another.ARTA is concernedby the Sabre/Prismdeal.Page 8Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection07 August 2012, Washington, DCThank You!Bruce Bishins, CTCAssociation of Retail Travel AgentsARTAScottsdale, Arizonawww.arta.travelbbishins@arta.travel