1 Airline, travel agency battle over rebating NEW YORK When the first discount air-travel agency McTravel in Northbrook, I. started advertising for business last winter, the sky fell in. Some of the agency's higher-priced competitors complained to the airlines, McTravel says. American Airlines stopped the company from advertising American tickets at a discount. McTravel is now suing American for $10 million.
Not that travel-agent discounts are new. They have long been available to large corporations and, more recently, to favored individual clients at certain agencies. But rebating wasn't done publicly. The sin of McTravel was to offer discounts widely to all comers, and to advertise them broadly. McTravel's competitors would love to see it go out of business and indeed, if it loses the lawsuit, the outlook for discount travel will be dim.
Other airlines might follow American's lead and snuff out the spread of freemarket competition in the travel business. But if McTravel wins, more travel agents can be expected to bid for your business with a lower price. McTravel saves money for travelers by rebating the commission that travel agents normally get from the airlines. Typically, there's a 10 per- Personals Sjogren Siemens Thrift promotes two Two assistant vice presidents of Security Savings and Loan Association, 317 S. Santa Fe, have received promotions.
LeAnn M. Sjogren has been promoted to vice president with responsibilities in operations and personnel. Sjogren has been with Security Savings since 1974 and previously was assistant secretary and treasurer. She attended Marquette High School and Hutchinson Community Junior College. Larry G.
Siemens has become vice president in charge of consumer lending activities. Siemens has been an employee of Security Savings for three years and is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. Keethler begins practice Dr. Kent A. Keethler, dentist, has begun practice as an associate with Dr.
Duane E. Patterson, 905 E. Prescott. Keethler re ceived a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1975, and worked as a nuclear technologist for four years before graduating from Keethler the University of Missouri Kansas City dental school in May 1985. He spent the past summer working with a dentist in West Germany.
Connor elected president Timothy S. Connor, general manager of the Salina office of Mutual of Omaha Companies, has been elected pres-1 ident of the firm's Midwest General Agents and Man- Connor agers Association. Connor has been with the company since 1972 and served as general manager in Salina since 1981. Business news items, such as promotions, awards, changes of business ownership, should be brought or sent to Judith Weber at The Journal. The deadline for items to'be used on the Sunday business page is Wednesday.
Send your news tip to The Salina. Journal; up to $45 in cash weekly. EARN AS MUCH AS 14.0% ANNUAL INTEREST TWENCO FINANCIAL CORPORATION ONE WEST ARMOUR BLVD. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64111 1-800-821-2658 MO Res. 816-561-8900 The Salina Journal Sunday, November 10, 1985 Page 9 Jane Bryant Quinn WASHINGTON POST cent sales commission built into the price of tickets to 1 U.S.
destinations, and 8 to 15 percent on international flights. But instead of taking a commission, McTravel charges you a flatfee: On a domestic ticket $8 to make a booking and $7 to write a ticket, with a minimum charge of $10 per order. On an International flight $20 for the booking and $15 for writing the ticket, with a minimum charge of $20 per order. You can save money by booking the ticket yourself by phone and just having McTravel write it for you. Procedurally, McTravel writes the ticket at full price (so it can claim the commission), then gives you back a check for 10 percent of the price less the agency's ticket-writing fees.
Everything can be handled by mail, credit card and telephone. On a low- -price ticket, it's cheaper to buy from a regular agent and pay the commission. But on a U.S. ticket Business briefs installs teller machine Peoples Heritage Federal Savings and Loan Association has installed an automatic teller machine in the Sunset Plaza parking lot on West Crawford that will be put into operation this week. Peoples Heritage is a member of Kansas Electronic Transfer System (KETS), a regional automated teller network, and Cirrus, a national network with about 8,400 machines.
The new machine currently can be activated only with cards issued to Peoples Heritage account holders. After a KETS data conversion in March, the machine will be accessible to all KETS and Cirrus members. Store being improved The convenience store at the Green Lantern Car Wash, 1100 E. Iron, has been demolished in preparation for the building of a new store. The new store will be 1,000 square New owner shuts HAYS (HNS) The former Stuckey's Restaurant at the Toulon exit of Interstate 70 is shut down, but the new owners plan to reopen it in the spring.
Cardon Tempe, bought the Stuckey's restaurant and five others in Kansas earlier this year. Dora Bass, regional manager for Cardon, said the restaurant was closed because business declined following summer. However, she said, the corporation planned to reopen it and probably would remodel costing more than $108 including tax (if you do the booking, or $183.60 if they do it), you'll save money with McTravel or with any other agency willing to make a full rebate. You'll even pay less than if you had bought the ticket from the airline, since the airline price includes the 10 percent. How does McTravel do it? By offering only a bare-bones service.
There's no travel consulting, no arranging of itineraries, no booking hotels and rental cars, no train trips and no agency credit. The agency simply books or writes airline tickets, for cash or a credit-card charge. If you want to change your flight, McTravel will rewrite your ticket for another fee. (If you do your own booking, you're responsible for any booking changes. If McTravel books, it will make changes as part of the initial fee.) American Airlines says that it's not opposed to rebating per se.
"That isn't a realistic position to in today's market, company spokesman Linda Johnson told my associate, Virginia Wilson. What American dislikes is that McTravel is telling the world about it. "It's bad business to have an agency selling tickets for less than us and advertising it," she says. Airlines have the right to refuse to feet larger, will have more gas pumps and a canopy covering from the pumps to the store. It is expected to open in mid-December.
Some car wash bays will remain open during the renovation. Funeral home remodeled MANKATO Steve and Terri Melby will host an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the newly remodeled Kramer Funeral Home in Mankato. During their first year of service the Melbys said they have planted a new lawn, landscaped, installed new carpet in the chapel, redecorated the business office and poured in the garage and driveways Mall travel agency open International Tours of Salina, a full-service travel agency, has opened at the Mid-State Mall.
The agency also will offer personalized tours and motor coach and charter down Stuckey's and expand the restaurant. In August, manager Mary Ann Froelich said Cardon planned to remodel the restaurant into a 24-hour truck stop. Bass would not say if that type of expansion still was planned. Cardon also bought Stuckey's Restaurants in Brewster, Ellsworth, Grainfield, Lindsborg and Paxico, and sites in Walker and Abilene where restaurants already were closed. The purchase was part of Cardon's acquisition of 39 Stuckey's restaurants across the nation.
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43rd K.C., Mo. (816) 756-1335 1 (800) 341-7368 756-0622 deal with agents that practice rebating, although they rarely do. American's position seems to be that it's OK for travel agents to give secret rebates to corporations on international flights: They're supposed to be against the law. Although rebating is legal within the United States, there is no free market in international ticket prices. The U.S.
government negotiates them with other countries and all agree to abide by the rules. But in fact, international rebating is widely, though secretly, practiced, according to McTravel officials. Every now and then the U.S. Department of Transportation brings a case to pretend that it's serious. No formal complaint has been brought against McTravel for international rebating, a DOT spokesman says.
But informal complaints may very well be in the pipeline. Meanwhile, back at McTravel, business is good, The agency is buying full-price American Airline tickets from another agency and discounting them to customers, so as to offer a full line of low- fares. It's also planning to start rebating package tours. Now the wait is on, to see if the sellers of higher-priced tickets can use the courts to put discounters out of business. tours.
It will be open during regular mall hours. Larry Holmgren is the ownermanager and Dee Pearson is assistant manager. International Tours is a franchise operation with headquarters in Tulsa, and about 250 offices nationwide. Luncheon program slated HAYS A luncheon program on "Financial Management for Women" will be at noon Wednesday at Hadley Regional Medical Center in Hays. Penne Fuertges of King Financial Center will be the speaker.
The cost i is $5 and registration is due Tuesday at Hadley's health promotion office. Sluggish spending dampens hopes NEW YORK (AP) Persistent Morgan Stanley Co. was sluggishness in consumer spend- slightly more optimistic, saying ing is dampening hopes for a big he believes consumers, who pick-up during the important "want to take care of their famiChristmas selling period, when lies" during the holidays will take the retailers traditionally post on more debt. more than half of their sales and Still, Christmas sales overall profits. will be "fair," Loeb predicted.
"We are not looking for any The good news, for the comsignificant improvement," panies, is that their markdowns Jeffrey Feiner, a retail analyst haven't been, and probably won't with the investment firm Merrill be, as drastic as they were last Lynch, Pierce, Fenner Smith year. That means their profits said after leading retailers should be greater, analysts say. released monthly sales reports. That may mean fewer bargains Walter Loeb, an analyst with for consumers, though. U.S.
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