News

By Paul Nelson

WORLDCHOICE, Advantage and Midconsort have unceremoniously dumped Irish Ferries as a preferred partner after it slashed some commission rates by more than 50%.

The move will be seen as a warning to other operators against slashing commission for their members.

Irish Ferries will cut commission for port-to-port travel by more than 50% to just 5% from January 1. Commission rates for package holiday bookings remain unchanged.

Worldchoice chairman and managing director Colin Heal said its previous commission rate from Irish Ferries was 13%. Advantage refused to reveal its previous rate but it is believed to be similar to the Worldchoice agreement. Midconsort said rates had been cut by “at least half”.

The consortia have now switched their attention to Stena Line, which operates similar routes.

Heal said: "The cut to 5% is unjustified and useless to our members. It is not an airline – our members would be unable to charge the customer a service fee. Commission cuts will not be put up with," said Heal.

Irish Ferries passenger manager Daragh O’Reilly defended the move stating it was essential to compete with the airline industry.

"We had no choice as we are facing extreme competition from both no-frills and traditional carriers,” he said.

Midconsort chief executive Charles Eftichiou said: “We’re not standing for it. To compare Irish Ferries’ product with the airlines is a very poor argument.”