Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - (Page 56)

TR ANSPORTATION Air Consolidators Lower capacity and higher fares make agents’ need for a trusted consolidator even more crucial BY GEORGE DOOLEY IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE CURRENT AIRLINE CRISIS and the effects of soaring oil costs on airlines and the travel industry, you are not alone. The combination of lower capacity (fewer seats and flights), higher fares and deteriorating service quality will impact every agent and traveler. It’s also going to impact airline consolidators Linda Furry, president of USACA, outlines key factors agents should look for when choosing an air consolidator fares. Therefore, agents need to continue to find ways to bring value to the traveler with their greater knowledge and expertise. Agents’ professional services become more valuable with higher prices and fewer seats,” Furry said in an interview with Travel Agent. “Also, it’s vitally important for agents to have a relationship with a trusted consolidator. This relationship is crucial when selling international air tickets and gaining access to deeply discounted airfares. Finally, an agent needs to take advantage of the high-tech booking tools that are offered by some consolidators that help agents find the best airfares.” What to Look For Furry notes that air consolidators are a vital part of the industry, with USACA members representing about $5 billion in annual sales. “Do not take a risk when choosing a consolidator,” she advises. “Your consolidator must be financially sound, be a long-term contributor, reputable in the industry and generate a high volume of sales. They must have a favorable reputation. Book with a prime consolidator, not a reseller—make sure they have direct contracts with airlines.” Furry wants to build agents’ awareness of the tools that USACA offers to understand and master air consolidation. “We encourage agents to become familiar with how to increase their revenues by using consolidators,” she says. “Our online tutorial is a good place to start. The online quiz is simple and provides an overview of how USACA members can help travel agents achieve their objectives. It’s useful for homebased independent agents as well.” USACA has carefully screened members ranking among the best and brightest consolidators in the U.S. Members are screened and monitored for financial security, customer service, air contracts, reliability, size and more. As USACA members must have $20 million in sales, they can provide a key for increased profitability and client service quality. and the United States Air Consolidation Association (USACA) (www.usaca.com) members. Linda Furry, president of the 12-member association and executive vice president, sales and marketing for Centrav Inc. (www.centrav. com), a major consolidator, predicts that changes are coming. “The forecast is for lower capacity and higher 56 | TravelAgent August 4, 2008 “Like travel agents, air consolidators will need to remain flexible to remain viable in the market,” Furry says. “What works today may not even be applicable tomorrow. And air consolidators need to stay very much in tune with the travel agent community to always keep abreast of current needs and trends so that we can best serve them. “Consolidators will expect travel agents to have a basic understanding of airline and travel terminology and concepts,” she continues. “But we realize that most travel agents will not be experts in air travel because of the diversity of their job. Air travel is the majority of what many of us do, and so we can come alongside the travel agent and offer that piece of experience and helpfulness.” Furry, a 30-year veteran, believes the current airline crisis is slowing down sales for most agents and consolidators. However, Centrav has actually seen an increase in sales due to many travel agents responding to the unique booking tools Centrav offers online. Centrav is a founding member of USACA and well established in the travel industry. Celebrating 20 years of service to travel agents, Centrav’s proprietary software offers simplicity, speed and high-tech booking tools to enable travel agents to easily sell air tickets for higher profit. Centrav’s unique approach is to display both private (consolidator) fares and published fares on one web page for easy comparison. A Best Fare Finder tool quickly searches all fares at the same time and then displays them in price order. Travel agents can explore USACA’s program and get access to the tutorial and other resources online at www.usaca.com. Included are member profiles and a search engine to find a USACA consolidator or airline. I CONNECTING YOU For more information on air consolidation, visit www.travelagentcentral.com/transportation http://www.usaca.com http://www.usaca.com http://www.centrav.com http://www.centrav.com http://www.travelagentcentral.com/transportation

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - August 4, 2008

Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 Online Now Contents From the Editor Africa Europe Pacific/Asia Hawaii Las Vegas Australia Alaska Central & South America Adventures by Disney comes to Costa Rica Caribbean Cruises Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel Air Consolidators Hotels Tours Gay & Lesbian Travel Agent Profile Bidding for Business Agenda Caribbean Update India Attacting More U.S. Travelers Fuel Prices Cost Royal Caribbean Jobs ASTA Celebrates Victory Over Airlines Agent Access Classified Marketplace In the Spotlight Editorial Index Advertising Index Trendwatch

Travel Agent - August 4, 2008

Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - (Page Coverwrap1) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - (Page Coverwrap2) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 (Page Cover1) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 (Page Cover2) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 (Page 1) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Online Now (Page 2) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Online Now (Page 3) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Contents (Page 6) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 8) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 9) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 10) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 11) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 12) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - From the Editor (Page 13) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Africa (Page 14) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Africa (Page 15) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Africa (Page 16) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Africa (Page 17) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 18) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 19) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 20) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 21) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 22) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Europe (Page 23) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Pacific/Asia (Page 24) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Pacific/Asia (Page 25) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Pacific/Asia (Page 26) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Pacific/Asia (Page 27) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Hawaii (Page 28) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Hawaii (Page 29) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Hawaii (Page 30) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Hawaii (Page 31) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Las Vegas (Page 32) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Las Vegas (Page 33) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Las Vegas (Page 34) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Las Vegas (Page 35) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Australia (Page 36) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Australia (Page 37) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Alaska (Page 38) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Alaska (Page 39) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Central & South America (Page 40) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Central & South America (Page 41) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Adventures by Disney comes to Costa Rica (Page 42) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Adventures by Disney comes to Costa Rica (Page 43) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Caribbean (Page 44) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Caribbean (Page 45) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Caribbean (Page 46) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Caribbean (Page 47) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cruises (Page 48) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cruises (Page 49) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 50) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 51) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 52) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 53) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 54) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Cover Story: Have Food? Will Travel (Page 55) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Air Consolidators (Page 56) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Hotels (Page 57) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Tours (Page 58) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Tours (Page 59) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Gay & Lesbian Travel (Page 60) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Gay & Lesbian Travel (Page 61) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Profile (Page 62) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Profile (Page 63) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Bidding for Business (Page 64) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agenda (Page 65) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Caribbean Update (Page 66) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - India Attacting More U.S. Travelers (Page 67) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Fuel Prices Cost Royal Caribbean Jobs (Page 68) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - ASTA Celebrates Victory Over Airlines (Page 69) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - ASTA Celebrates Victory Over Airlines (Page 70) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 71) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 72) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 73) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 74) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 75) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Agent Access (Page 76) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Classified Marketplace (Page 77) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - In the Spotlight (Page 78) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - In the Spotlight (Page 79) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Editorial Index (Page 80) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Editorial Index (Page Cover3) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Editorial Index (Page Cover4) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Editorial Index (Page Coverwrap3) Travel Agent - August 4, 2008 - Editorial Index (Page Coverwrap4) 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