TRAVELMANAGERS member Caroline Cox has penned this open letter to the airline sector.
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Airlines – the retail travel industry needs your help.
We ask that you consider getting together with airline colleagues to come up with a workable strategy to help better manage the current flood of waivers, commercial policies, bulletins, exception policies, updates etc.
The airlines deserve much praise for what they have tried to achieve during this pandemic, and the distribution system is probably the least of their worries now. But… I cannot sit idly by and watch the impact on the health and wellbeing of people in our industry without at least trying to reach out to have some stability imposed, as we all work tirelessly to rebuild.
I am reaching out to the policy makers to talk to industry leaders and your own teams to discuss the serious health impact that the above rules are having on them. The STRESS FACTOR almost outweighs the fear of what is ahead for us all over the next few months. This you have all unwittingly contributed to.
Consider how the distribution network is coping with the information overload, which comes in the form of daily waiver updates and hurriedly constructed policies that have not been tested and are therefore open to interpretation.
Consider the various ticket offices, BSP teams, and frontline staff who are trying to decipher the information.
We understand that you need to provide best option strategies for a quick recovery from COVID-19 and we will all be on the same page to ensure we do our part to help. Please consider the benefits and incredible difference you could make by getting together to consider carefully a one-off extraordinary way to keep the change rules simple.
This is a once in a lifetime pandemic so let’s not make it any harder than it should be. Consider the following:
* All tickets issued that clients were not able to avail because of COVID-19 can be rebooked for travel up to and including the anniversary of their original travel in 2021 with no waivers and no ADCOL.
* A pandemic levy might be considered for travellers who want to set their own dates.
* Reintroduce an MCO or adapt the EMD for the distribution system to be able to extend the validity of the ticket to the anniversary of original travel in 2021.
Think about the financial and health benefits for the entire industry that would stem from streamlining your approach:
* Resources required to manage reconciliations now
* Freeing up teams to handle the phones for other matters
* Avoid COVID-19 related ADMs in 2020/21 and reduce the challenges they would bring
* Free up resources to focus on planning for industry recovery
* Consistency and trust for the entire distribution system
* Simplification of waivers, bulletins, commercial policies — a one-off blanket waiver that covers all tickets issued within a designated period that allows clients to rebook without penalties
* Outward display of empathy for travellers
* Reduced workload and stress on the agency distribution network
* Reduction in confusing and conflicting information given to travellers
* Massive health benefits
You can make a difference – just keep it simple!
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Source: traveldaily