British Airways planes parked at Heathrow Airport in London, in this August 1, 2007 file photo. - AP

British Airways on Tuesday announced a cut in commissions paid to Caribbean travel agents, from six to one per cent, but has limited it to a segment of the market.

The reduction is on journeys originating outside the Caribbean that are sold on separate tickets.

Jamaican agents said immediately that they wrote only a few tickets for such journeys annually, and expected no serious fallout as a result.

"The six per cent standard commission shall be retained for journeys originating in any Caribbean island except for Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and Cayman Islands," said a BA release. The one per cent fee applies in those territories.

MINIMAL IMPACT

Yesterday, while travel agents agreed the impact on their business would be minimal, one agent said it is being read as 'a signal of other things to come'.

Said BA's Area Commercial Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, Nick Horne: "The change reflects market conditions such as the prevalence of travel agency fees, as well as the need to appropriately manage our distribution costs."

Horne said the agents are free to implement service fees, "as British Airways does when customers book directly through our call centre."

The reduced commission takes effect May 19.