As Airlines for America predicts record summer travel this year, the importance of building and maintaining productive relationships with the airline industry is yet again thrust into the spotlight.
“For travel advisors, air is a crucial component in nearly all travel that we sell,” says Claire Canady, Travel Experts director of North Carolina operations in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Being knowledgeable and able to guide clients on their air choices helps create client satisfaction with the whole trip. It’s beneficial for us to have a good relationship with the airlines, so we can work together to make air travel a positive experience. The biggest benefit is happy clients, but of course commissionable fares are also important to us.”
Maintaining effective relations with the airline industry is also a priority for Tom Ollinger, managing director of Global Travel Associates, a TRAVELSAVERS affiliate in Falls Church, Virginia. “Regardless of what industry you are in, excellent supplier relationships facilitate daily tasking and the ability to get things done in a timely manner,” he explains, noting that even at a time when relations with the airline industry may be strained, collaboration is still key to any successful business model. “The industry has evolved from airlines formerly branded exclusively as ‘suppliers’ to now being recognized as ‘friendly competitors.’ We must accept this challenge and focus on our agency’s strengths and uniqueness. Service is the driving factor for client retention for both an airline and for a travel management company. Fostering good relationships helps us both achieve this common goal of customer satisfaction.”
Credit: Lufthansa Group
The Benefits of a Strong Partnership
Maintaining a positive relationship with airlines — and their sales representatives, in particular — produces multiple benefits, according to Ollinger. “Time is money, and effective airline relationships make the day-to-day process much more efficient,” he says. “Getting prompt answers and assistance with service-related issues is very important, and having dedicated preferred airline support desks that are well staffed is critical. The combined dual efforts and teamwork between an agency and an airline can transform a ‘travel disaster’ into becoming a hero in the eyes of the traveler.”
Indeed, the ability to efficiently solve problems is one of the “immense benefits” of working with airlines, according to Peter Vlitas, executive vice president, partner relations at Internova Travel Group. “If you have trust with the airline and the airline trusts you, and you're building that relationship, then — in the times of urgent needs where something may have gone wrong — you will get faster service if you have a friendly partnership attitude,” he explains.
Canady, meanwhile, notes that working together in a positive way also provides more opportunities for sales as well as for pleasing clients. “By having a good relationship with an airline, we stay updated on changes, promotions, exceptions and waivers for our clients that they are unable to receive as an individual,” she says. “The volume of business that we bring to the airline carries weight when making these requests.”
Ollinger said that an advisor’s ability to improve the air travel experience for clients — in ways that clients couldn’t do on their own — works wonders for building loyalty. “Clients truly recognize value-added service and going the extra mile, and great supplier camaraderie yields fruitful, long-term customer relationships and unprecedented client retention,” he said. “Preferred agency status privileges and benefits extended to travelers include elevated services for priority waitlisting and waitlist clearance, seat unblocking, penalty waivers, frequent flyer status matching programs, name change/name correction privileges, fare matching and periodic upgrades.”
Photo Credit: Lufthansa Group
How to Build and Maintain a Relationship
For Vlitas, building a positive relationship with an airline rep starts with simple and respectful human interactions, coupled with maintaining realistic expectations. “Believe it or not, travel advisors should become a rep’s friend,” he says. “Ask them about their personal life. If they have a family, ask them ‘how's the family,’ If it's their birthday, send them a card. If you treat your contact at the airline like a partner or a colleague, you will foster a strong relationship.”
Canady aims to maintain an open line of communication with her airline partners. “We take the time to know our reps, have regular meetings, share ideas on how to grow the business and inform them of any pain points,” she says. “We are open and honest when challenges arise, but always professional in our correspondence and realistic in our expectations. And we do our best to promote the airline’s services to our clients.”
Ollinger agrees about the importance of productive interactions. “Partnerships begin and flourish with integrity and commitment,” he says. “It’s important to schedule monthly or periodic meetings to share updates, issues, challenges and opportunities. It’s imperative to participate in events and functions to foster interpersonal relationships. Airline representatives want feedback on the good and the bad — recognition of great service from their support staff, market opportunities to send up the chain of command and brainstorming over how to win a traveler back after a dismal travel experience.”
“As far as dealing with challenges, I have always thought of challenges as opportunities and not obstacles,” Ollinger adds. “The solution goes back to being transparent and honest. So much is accomplished by laying out the facts and solving them together.”