Singapore Airlines to cut travel agent base commission to 1 per cent

Zurich, Switzerland - December 27, 2009: Airplane Boeing 777-300 of Singapore Airlines departing Zurich airport.

Singapore Airlines will reduce its base commission for travel agents later this year.

The airline advised its agency partners that BSP base commission offered on SIA’s international airfares ticketed in Australia will be amended to 1 per cent in October 2022

The reduction will apply to commissionable airfares ticketed in Australia on SIA’s 618 ticket stock.

According to Singapore Airlines’ general manager for national agency sales, Greg McJarrow, the decision to reduce BSP commission has not been taken lightly.

“It has been influenced by a number of factors, including the highly challenging operating environment, a need to better align to the local, regional and global market conditions, and SIA’s focus on adopting, and investing in new technologies,” McJarrow said.

“These technologies will provide new selling opportunities for our trade partners while delivering an improved experience for our mutual customers into the future.

“SIA recognises the impact this decision will have on our agency partners and is committed to ongoing engagement with key partners in the months ahead in preparation for the change.”

McJarrow said the travel agency community in Australia will continue to play an integral role in Singapore Airlines’ distribution strategy and it will continue to support its agency partners through the distribution of fares and products via traditional channels and new technologies, sales and frontline support, as well as through Agency Partner arrangements to recover and grow the market together.

Singapore Airlines joins Emirates and Qantas in what appears to be a downward trend in agent commissions for international flights.

The Australian Federation of Australia (AFTA) said it would make fighting “the apparent uniform decision by carriers to reduce commissions to agents” a top priority in 2022.

“We’re exploring avenues for action given the fact this approach ignores the important role of agents in lowering overheads and optimising the journey for the customer to the benefit of the airlines as well as the traveller,” AFTA CEO, Dean Long, said.


Image source: iStock/Jetlinerimages

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