Alexandria, VA, November 15, 2024 — The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) gathered the industry's most influential stakeholders, its Corporate Advisory Council, to lay the groundwork for working with a new administration next year.
Specifically, the advisory council provided strategic direction and input for the Society’s response to the Departments of Transportation and Justice's recently announced Request for Information (RFI) relating to the state of competition in air travel. The RFI was announced on October 24, less than two weeks before the election, and with a change in administration forthcoming in January, the fate of the RFI is uncertain. ASTA points out that there’s no clear understanding over what use the two agencies, with new political leadership, would make of the information they gather.
“It stands to reason that it’s unlikely the new Administration will use the information to propose new rules,” said Zane Kerby, President & CEO of ASTA. “Nonetheless, the RFI provides ASTA, as a global trade organization that represents the business of selling travel, an opportunity to reinforce its position on airline competition and the essential role that leisure and corporate travel agencies play in the overall travel economy.”
Of note, ASTA formally brought concerns regarding competition in air travel to the attention of both agencies more than a year ago, and welcome the opportunity presented by the RFI to share its members’ views on this critically important issue.
“There's a lot to be said for ASTA's efforts in this,” Kerby continued. “That’s why we’re going to spend more time with our advisory council to thoughtfully pull our comments together, with an emphasis on areas where travel agencies have a unique perspective, as well as a plan for countering the arguments that we believe will be submitted from the airlines and others.”
