Hong Kong travel agents fear cash squeeze as Cathay Pacific targets tickets sales in money-saving move

Name: Cathay Pacific Airways announces its largest job cuts in history
Uploaded: 2020-10-26T01:00:06.000Z
Duration: 3 min 43 s
Description: Cathay Pacific Airways announces its largest job cuts in history

Industry group fears commission earnings could take a hit and accuses airline of trying to undercut its members

Airline says city’s travel agents have to ‘embrace change’ and adapt to a new reality

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Cathay Pacific staff check-in passengers at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Danny Lee

Published: 9:00am, 26 Oct 2020Updated: 9:09am, 26 Oct 2020

Days after laying off thousands of staff, Cathay Pacific has been accused of putting profit before people by Hong Kong’s travel agents in a row over ticket sales.

The airline is reportedly considering changes to how its tickets are sold, and wants the industry to get on board as it looks to save money, and reduce the cost of selling a seat.

For travel agents, that could mean losing the commission they earn when they sell a flight, and for passengers it could mean the end of cheaper air fares.

The Society of IATA Passenger Agents (SIPA), a coalition of the largest travel agents in Hong Kong, is afraid the airline plans to undercut its members and wants to lure more passengers to book directly with them.

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Cathay Pacific Airways announces its largest job cuts in history

Cathay said agents needed “to embrace changes to adapt to the new travel reality”.