Posted by By Felix Nwaneri on
THE country's flag carrier, Virgin Nigeria Airways has announced a reduction in the airline's bank guarantee requirement for tickets by travel agents as well as an increase in commission on all sales over the next six months.
THE country's flag carrier, Virgin Nigeria Airways has announced a reduction in the airline's bank guarantee requirement for tickets by travel agents as well as an increase in commission on all sales over the next six months.
The airline's Chief Executive Officer-designate, Mr. Conrad Clifford, made the announcement in Owerri, Imo State, at the recently concluded conference of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA).
Clifford said that banking guarantee for tickets has been reduced by 33 per cent from N150,000 per ticket to N100,000 while commission on sale goes up by an additional one per cent.
"Any agent who is already signed up as an appointed Virgin Nigeria Travel Agent or any new agent who signs up with us as an appointed agent before the end of the year will receive an additional one per cent commission on all sales for the next six months, that is, 9+1% on international routes and 5+1% on domestic routes," he explained.
The CEO-designate said these incentives were announced in order to help spur the growth of both Virgin Nigeria and the travel agency business in the country. He enjoined NANTA to reciprocate the gesture by encouraging its members to keep pace with global trends in their business, especially in terms of being Information Technology-compliant.
"The International Air Travel Association (IATA) wants to be paperless and e-ticket compliant by 2007," Clifford said, stressing, "Virgin Nigeria is in the process joining IATA and we strongly support the move to paperless and e-ticket."
He further explained that Virgin Nigeria would make significant contributions aimed at facilitating the business of travel agents by giving them the requisite tools to sell Virgin Nigeria flights.
One of these tools, he said, would be the launch of the airline's Frequent Flyer Programme to enable Business Class passengers earn and redeem miles on Virgin Nigeria flights.
He also cited offerings on the London Gatwick route on which all passengers are currently offered free round-trip tickets on the Gatwick Expess, a 30-minute express train between Gatwick Airport and the Central London Victoria Rail Station.
Clifford said that travel agents can now access Virgin Nigeria flights on the major distribution systems, saying: "We now have links from our reservations system to all the Big Four global distribution systems: Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan."
He pledged the airlines support of travel agents on an on-going basis as the airline launches more routes, explaining that they would be taken on familiarisation trips so they could experience what pertains in those markets. "We want you to see these destinations so that you can sell them to your customers," Clifford said.
It will be recalled that Virgin Nigeria last week launched its first A340 300 flight to Johannesburg, South Africa with flight service on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Lagos, departing Johannesburg at 09.30hrs to arrive the Murtala Mohammed International Lagos Airport at 14:00hrs on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays while operations from Lagos into London Gatwick. Flying 3 times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from Lagos and on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from London Gatwick.
The London Gatwick bound flight takes off from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos at 23.35hr and arrives the South Terminal of the London Gatwick airport at 05.30 the next day.