One of the primary reasons for the demise of commissions was the desire by airlines to reduce their distribution costs. They also felt it would take out an intermediary, bring them closer to their end customers and give themselves a competitive edge. Their strategy was not resisted by corporations who saw it as a way to commoditise this vexing and rather antique type of purchasing, or at least make it far more transparent. After all, experience showed them that stripping a product down to its component parts makes it far easier to negotiate lower prices. There were mixed feelings amongst travel management companies. It varied around the world from despair and anger to others who saw it as an opportunity to survive and thrive whilst their peers faltered under the pressure of having to justify their role in the supply chain.
The end result has proved to be fascinating and I am not sure if any of the key stakeholders got what they wanted out of it.
