Travellers may have to pay after airlines announced new commission structures for agents.

At least one airline is set to introduce lower percentage rates for agents on flight sales from Bermuda, with a maximum commission for each seat sold.

And the move by Continental could result in the agents' income reduction being passed on to the customer in the form of an increased booking fee.

But while Island travel agents are waiting to hear whether they will be hit by the new commission structure, they say they are confident that the quality service they offer will counteract the effect of any rise.

Patti Daly Franklin, president of the Bermuda Travel Agents Association, said they had been suspecting that the rates were to be changed.

She added that an increase in their booking fee was a possibility, but nothing had been decided yet.

But the boss of Franklin Travel said she hoped that providing her agents with better communication equipment would enable them to give the customer an even faster service. "People are getting prices over the Internet. But there is still a group of people who like the service, or don't have the time to do it themselves,'' she said.

Henry Hayward, president of Meyer Agencies, said although the new system had not affected the Island yet, a rise in the booking fee was a possibility.

He said agents were used to making around ten percent on a ticket and a cap of $50 could mean many will tailor a booking fee to counteract the loss of revenue.

Continental plans to pay a base commission rate of five percent for tickets issued by online travel agencies in Bermuda, along with those in the US, Canada and other countries.

There will be a maximum payment of $100 for a round-trip ticket.

Air Canada have also revised their commission structure in the US. But there will be no changes for tickets booked in Bermuda.

Henry Hayward