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APG Nigeria, Turkish Airlines hold collaborative sales forum with travel agencies
Travel agencies attended a collaborative Sales Forum on the APG Platform Product put together by APG Nigeria and Turkish Airlines.
General Manager of APG Nigeria, Mrs. Gloria Atumu listed the benefits of APG Platform for travel trade and the forum presents an opportunity to learn about Turkish Airlines and the benefits of issuing its tickets on the APG Platform.
Turkish Airlines General Manager for Lagos, Mr. Lokman Balkan spoke on the products and services of the airline and encouraged bookings on the APG Platform.
Many of the travel agents sought more clarification and solutions to some of the challenges with issuing of Turkish Airlines tickets that would be beneficial to both parties using the APG platform.
APG Nigeria Sales Executive, Mr. Odafe Atumu explained that APG is a network for airlines’ services that currently offers services to over 200 airlines globally.
“We have about 13 different products that we offer to airlines. APG Nigeria offers some of these products in our market. We have the APG NDC platform, APG Connect, APG IET, ABCS, APG Cargo, and the APG GSA. For instance for APG GSSA, we represent TAAG Angola, for APG Cargo, we have United Airlines. For the services we offer to agencies, the APG IET is available on GDS for travel agents. With APG Airlines as the validating carrier, they are able to issue 136 carriers which interline with each other.”
Due to the issue of repatriation of funds in Nigeria, the ticketing authority on APG IET is currently closed to all agencies. APG Connect, a web-based booking tool and version of IET is available to agencies at the moment.
Atumu debunked insinuations that the APG connect is replacing APG IET, saying, “It is not replacing APG IET. What it means is that now that the ticketing authority is closed to all travel agents in Nigeria on GDS on IET, APG Connect is the product that is available to travel agencies right now until the fund repatriation situation is resolved. APG Connect which is a web-based option is what agencies have access to right now. IET is currently restricted on the GDS.”
Explaining further on the issue of skyrocketing airfares, especially on the Nigerian routes occasioned by airlines’ trapped funds which might have affected ticket sales, he described the situation as a general trend in the Nigerian Market especially with the foreign exchange crunch in the country.
“Right now, payment is done on the APG platform in dollars and it is easier for us because we don’t have to go through the challenge of trying to repatriate to the airlines. When they issue in dollars, it goes straight to the head office. It is nothing peculiar to us but the travel market generally. If you look at it in a way, our fares are cheaper on the APG Platform than on the GDS because some of partner airlines are making special fares available which are not on the GDS.”
“If you look globally, some of the offers that are available on the APG platform are not actually available on the GDS. That is another way to look at it and because of the other services that we offer on the platform, you can make hotel bookings, the car rentals. You are getting a commission as well for these services. The car rental commission is about 20 percent to the agent. If their commission is actually accumulated over a period, you can use it to issue tickets and actually request for a transfer on their bank account.”
He described the APG platform as a means of selling air and non-air ancillaries and extra revenue for the agencies. The APG platform is an option for travel agencies to expand their catalogue of services to their clients
“With the sales the agencies make, they get a commission. The relationship has been mutual. We are helping them to add extra revenue to their business and to make more profit. It is a way of expanding their option, giving them more revenue and more options for their clients. Nigeria is a peculiar market with competition of who can offer the best deal to their clients or cheapest fares to their clients. We will continue to interact with our partners. It is a very competitive market. We currently have over 80 agencies on the APG platform in two years of offering the product to the market. The demand is there.”
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