Why air bookings are getting harder for advisors — and what’s being done to make them easier

# The current situation

Air bookings are more complicated for many travel advisors than they used to be. Beyond lower commission levels, advisors are wrestling with new distribution models, automated enforcement such as debit memos, and GDS vs airline-direct price differences.

# Why some advisors still book air

Danny Jarvis frames it simply: "If you're not booking the flight, you're not owning the trip. And if you're not owning the trip, you risk losing the client." He and other veterans learned fare complexity on the GDS and find air bookings straightforward with experience. John Castell says he can complete an air-only booking for a repeat client very quickly using the GDS and values its flexibility for schedule changes and alterations.

# The main pain points

• Commission cuts: Historical reductions and recent cuts (including a summer cut by Air Canada mentioned in the industry) have squeezed margins and made air harder to monetize.
• NDC functionality: Advisors report NDC platforms still lack the features and parity needed. Airlines and IATA have pushed agencies toward NDC, sometimes using fees to incentivize compliance, but advisors say the tools aren't yet practical for day-to-day agency use.

• Pricing inconsistency: Advisors report fare discrepancies between GDS displays (e.g., Sabre) and airline websites for identical fares, which erodes trust and margin.

# What airlines and platforms are doing

Airlines say they want to make booking easier for advisors. Air Canada offers a B2B direct NDC platform called AC Connex, which the airline says delivers "our best content" and reduces the risk of errors or debit memos. Porter emphasizes collaboration and support for advisors. WestJet acknowledges different agency models and focuses on providing tools and resources.

Third-party and host companies are also responding. Envoyage provides in-house air agreements, a ticketing support team, and an advisor community to help with changes, refunds and waivers. Trevello has built its own air booking platform with the goal of making air faster, more intuitive and commercially viable for advisors who want it.

# Practical choices for agencies

• Specialize selectively: If air yields thin margins at scale, some agencies choose to focus on segments where advisory fees or packages are more profitable.
• Use supported channels: Agencies with in-house agreements or host support teams can offload time-consuming tasks to ticketing support.
• Weigh the trade-offs: Booking air retains client control and can deepen relationships, but it requires processes to avoid errors that trigger debit memos.

# Bottom line

Air remains a complex part of the advisor proposition. For advisors who keep booking it, the benefit is stronger client ownership and potentially more complete trip management. Airlines and technology providers are rolling out airline-direct NDC channels, ticketing support and platform solutions intended to reduce friction, but advisors say practical barriers — pricing parity, NDC functionality and automated debit memos — still need work.