Barrhead Travel most certainly have been influencing passengers to fly from Glasgow East rather than GLA and have been for the best part of a decade now. As an example agents would receive kick-backs for booking passengers EDI-EWR-XYZ with UA. The same agent incentives were not on offer to agents if they booked GLA-EWR-XYZ. Likewise if agents booked passengers on direct GLA-MCO, no kick-back. Anytime a new long haul route from Glasgow East was announced Barrhead Travel celebrated this like all their Christmases had came at once and each time they wanted to support these new routes and to do so again they'd incentives agents to book these new routes over the long established routes from GLA......................They have been doing the same with long haul going east. Barrhead Travel massively favour QR from Glasgow East over EK at GLA..
The question that arises in response to this is: Why?
What did Barrhead Travel have to gain from pax flying from EDI instead of GLA? Who was subsidising these "kickbacks"?
It’s nonsense. All travel agencies receive commission on the products they sell. The level of commission for an item such as flight only can vary because the airlines are being competitive and marketing themselves. This might mean that the likes of Qatar Airways becomes a preferred option for a particular retailer for a period of time. This is also why we used to see MAN departures in tour operators’ windows because back then obviously Thomas Cook were all about selling their own products. Same with TUI. Independent travel agents will have competing commissions from the tour operators.
Independent tour operators like Barrhead Travel will want to sell what suits them and their customers best but I’m sure they will mildly ill-advise local customers that a MAN or EDI departure will be fine - if that’s going to clinch the sale and land the commission.
None of the above care a jot about plane spotters and their inter city airport rivalry along the M8 corridor, that’s for sure.
atuk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 8:19 pm
Aren’t Barrhead Travel now owned by an American consortium? Maybe this explains the allegiance to DL/VS.
Alleged allegiance.
Looking at their website when it comes to flight only they seem to have the following proffered airlines ie the airlines have given extra incentives for Barrhead Travel to sell their flights:
atuk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 9:17 pm
Clive
A lot of Barrhead Travel flights on Delta are Virgin code shares. I’ve seen the tickets and boarding cards.
Of course you have. You just haven’t seen all of their other pax at other airports.
An airline could easily base an a330 or 787 in Glasgow all summer with a mix of CUN and MCO flights and make a killing as far as I’m concerned. Whether that be Virgin, Aer Lingus U.k or indeed British Airways.
Getting back Delta or United really should be seen as an absolute priority though or perhaps even a curve bal with American airlines. I would love to see JetBlue enter the market but I’m unsure if that would ever come to pass now.
Either way GlA desperately needs a few US connections again and I’m glad to see Barrhead travel are working to try and do this.
I have just had the worst experience ever by using Barrhead travel. we have just lodge a mega complaint to them.
They could not even book our airlines seats in the correct name, or get us the correct hotel. we only just found out by chance. They dint even send us any documents until I made about 10 phones calls. We are awaiting a feedback from them to say one word Sorry we are not looking for anything from them, just one word Sorry
I would never use them again.
FlyGLA wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 3:56 pm
Getting to Glasgow East Airport is a far bigger hassle than a quick change of flights at a well organised and efficient hub. Even more so on the return journey. Landing at GLA knowing home is just 15 minutes away. No matter how much money Gordon Dewar chucks at CityLink I won't be faffing about with planes, coaches and taxis ever again.
Depends on where you live in Glasgow and at what time you arrive to avoid the shitshow of the Bridge. Majority of Glasgow residents face Bridge Bingo every day.
Im 30 to 40 minutes to GLA .
viscount wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 11:21 pm
I have just had the worst experience ever by using Barrhead travel. we have just lodge a mega complaint to them.
They could not even book our airlines seats in the correct name, or get us the correct hotel. we only just found out by chance. They dint even send us any documents until I made about 10 phones calls. We are awaiting a feedback from them to say one word Sorry we are not looking for anything from them, just one word Sorry
I would never use them again.
I sadly had to refuse travel to a family of four last October thanks to Barrhead Travel Dundee who advised them correctly they needed an ESTA to visit Orlando. What they didn’t take into account, and despite supposedly checking details, was they also required an ETA to transit YYZ en route.
Cue one desperately upset family and one very sorry checkin clerk that they were denied travel.
