Travelstart Says Goodbye to Itcs
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June 13 2018 I No. 2498 SOUTHERN AFRICA’S TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY TNW6867SD FEATURE NEWS AGENT REPORT QANTAS PLANS BLOCKED RUSSIA Airport blocks PER-JNB route A historical delight Sri Lanka gains popularity INSIDE Page 16 Page 6 Page 10 Travelstart says goodbye to ITCs SARAH ROBERTSON fares to consumer and on the best deals directly corporate travellers to the consumer. He FTER four and a half directly. acknowledged that agents years, Travelstart Travelstart has committed are using the direct portal A has discontinued its to continuing to support but said that policing this agent booking platform, existing neXt bookings, use was not a priority for neXt. Commenting on the advising agents to email Travelstart. decision, ceo Stephan them should clients’ need Rian Bornman, md Ekbergh said: “Serving the to amend their bookings. of FlightSiteAgent (a ITC community is no longer direct competitor) said in line with [the company’s] FlightSiteAgent was thriving vision.” “Serving the ITC in the space, with over “As a company who community is no 400 active agent users. develops several digital FlightSiteAgent also products, we need to longer in line with [the offers a web-based portal consider where we believe company’s] vision.” allowing agents without the future is. We will GDS experience to book continue to develop new tickets. products but also halt When asked if neXt “I believe that the non- those that we no longer agents could now make GDS segment continues Durban says cheers! believe in,” he told TNW. use of the Travelstart to be overlooked by Stephan added that consumer website for incumbents because the The Durban leg of Thirsty’s was hosted at The Capital neXt did not fit its core bookings, a spokesperson segment does not present Pearls Hotel, in Umhlanga. Looking glamourous is business, which was to told TNW that travelstart. lucrative return on margin Marga Wilson (left) and Nash Mughoo (right), both offer the most affordable co.za was intended to pass To page 16 from Corporate Traveller. Photo: Tessa Reed. Spanish Consulate calls BS on BLS CANDICE MAY minors, requiring that their the Consulate will still spousal visas, confirming unabridged marriage Unabridged Birth Certificates accept copies of UBCs that travellers applying certificate and a copy of the TRAVEL agents are still be stamped specifically by certified by the police. The for a Spanish visa as the spouse’s EU passport had receiving conflicting Home Affairs, certified within Consulate told TNW that spouse of an EU passport been sufficient to prove the information regarding a six-month period, as part agents should ignore the holder would now need to marriage. Meanwhile, agents Spanish visas. of their visa application. BLS information communicated prove their marriage was have reported that BLS is Last month, agents consultants confirmed this by BLS. registered in the same EU advising applicants that reported that consultants at new requirement to TNW. country as their spouse’s this is not a requirement, the BLS Application Centre However, the Spanish Spousal visas passport. They would do resulting in applications in Pretoria were advising Consulate has subsequently The Spanish Consulate this by obtaining a marriage being denied. that a new requirement told TNW that there is no has also clarified new certificate from that country. Liam Flett, owner of had been introduced for SA new requirement and that requirements around Previously, an SA To page 16 WANT TO EARN CLUBRED ROSES? Book an Avis car rental, Avis Point 2 Point, Avis Chauffeur Drive, or Avis Van Rental for your customers on qualifying rates. For more information visit clubred.co.za TNW8681SD NEW WORKSHOP!!! NEWS BA issues ADMs for changes Come fly with us! Flights twice as nice, to unticketed bookings 2nd daily flight LHR – JNB SARAH ROBERTSON the full change penalty “We received an ADM Learn about it in the workshop… for the relevant fare class recently for doing multiple CCORDING to agents, amounting to between R1 changes in a booking but Available until 24 June 2018 British Airways has 800 and R2 000 per ADM. only collecting the change A issued a recent spate According to the agent, fee the day the ticket was of ADMs for uncollected BA’s fare rule states, reissued. BA responded date change fees for “Charge R1 700 for reissue that the penalty applied per amendments made to or revalidation. Charge transaction per passenger bookings before they were applies per transaction per for every saved transaction issued. passenger.” made,” she said. Standard practice in When the agent queried Flight Centre only found the industry has always how they could reissue a out about BA’s practice been that changes can be ticket that had not been when they received this made without penalty to issued at the time, BA recent ADM, but Sara said provisional bookings with allegedly responded saying Lufthansa and SWISS had fees only incurred after that the ADM would stand introduced a similar policy TNW7956 issuance. and that the penalty should last year. However TNW have been collected as an At the time of going to ® understands that here BA electronic multipurpose print, British Airways was Rubes By Leigh Rubin listed “charge not collected document. unable to confirm what for change in PNR before Sara Mokua, air their official policy relating ticket issue” as the reason operations manager for to these two issues was, for the ADMs. Flight Centre Travel Group, but a spokesperson at the One source said his explained that BA also airline told TNW that no agency had received a raised ADMs for any closed recent amendments had handful of these ADMs changes made to PNRs been made to their policy in the last two months. between issuance and on unticketed changes to They had been charged revalidation. PNRs since 2011. Avalon is offering three river cruises in Europe, with packages starting from R43 900 pps. 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(Eastern Cape) Winter weekend special from R990 per Circulation: [email protected] room per night. Rate includes breakfast. Valid until June 30. 2 n Wednesday June 13 2018 QUICK READ FOR DECISION-MAKERS TNW8602SD NEWS Tips from Louis the Lawyer – Social media and defamation Advocate Louis Nel discusses the intention New investor to to defame ONE of the much-debated the defendant acted with augment TC offering conditions required to disregard and should have prove that defamation has been aware of the possibility TESSA REED structure to make sure that Steve Byrne, chief executive occurred includes proving of defamation occurring. our travel counsellors are at Travel Counsellors. that the alleged ‘defamer’ The court may also find RAVEL COUNSELLORS even more competitive.” Travel Counsellors had the intention to defame. that intention is implied or has been acquired by Vitruvian Partners