Travel agents complain about LOT-Lufthansa alliance

Close cooperation between LOT Polish Airlines and Lufthansa, which began on June 1 this year, has been strongly praised by the two carriers. However, most IATA (International Air Transport Association) agents object to the alliance, which holds a monopoly on 80% of the market. "LOT has cut our commission on plane ticket between Poland and Germany. This way they save 12% on expenses, but travel agents revenues fell by 30%," said Ryszard Posyniak, director of IATA in Poland and owner of PC Express travel agency. According to him, LOT and Lufthansa no longer compete for customers as they now control all flights between the two countries. However, LOT does not see anything wrong in cutting commissions. "Everybody does it in order to lower costs. Airlines in the Unites States sell tickets over the Internet, as do cheaper European carriers. In Poland it is not possible at this time, but ticket sales through this new media will continue to grow," claims the LOT spokesman, Leszek Chorzewski. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) A.K.