When the introduction of the commission caps came into play, I did a study to determine the impact of the caps against our present volumes and rebate. We can see from these figures that the cap imposed at this time will have little effect on our rebate from Carlson. Carlson Wagonlit is most aware of this problem. For those of you who may not be aware of consolidator fares, these are unpublished fares that are negotiated either by Carlson Wagonlit or an outside supplier with specific airlines to specific destinations on specific dates. These fares differ greatly depending on the dates and requirements of the traveler's itinerary, and are only guaranteed once the ticket is issued.
Some tickets are often restrictive, and there are limited seats available.
These tickets are often non-refundable or have heavy cancellation fees. These fares do offer substantial savings to the traveler. Consolidator rates are not listed within a database and the travel agencies must seek out the best fares from consolidator suppliers. Carlson is currently working to compile a list of consolidator suppliers and their destinations, provide additional training sessions for their international consultants, and make available a centralized international office to perform itinerary checks on international travel to insure that all possibilities have been provided. I addressed the concerns of unacceptable time lapses occurring after initial contact is made with a consultant and that on several occassions return calls had to be made to the consultant.