Despite pleas from ACTA, Sunwing will not protect travel agent commissions for cancelled bookings over the holiday season and beyond, "in line with normal procedures and industry standards."
Sunwing did announce a commission increase to 10% on new packages booked between January 19 and February 20, for departures up to May 31. But ACTA quickly responded by saying that won't make agents whole, and that it was "incredibly disappointed" by the decision to not protect commission.
"ACTA continues to call on Sunwing to do the right thing and protect commission and urges for immediate improvements to its agent communications to ensure clear, consistent, and timely sharing of information so that travel agents are aware of changes before, or not later than, their clients," said ACTA president Wendy Paradis.
Sunwing says the media has exaggerated its struggles this winter.
"While many customers were impacted over the peak holiday season, most of our customers enjoyed their holidays with minimal disruption," it said in a statement.
"News stories have exaggerated the travel disruptions and overstated the extent of route cancellations. We would like to set the record straight, respond to the travel community's concerns and address our plan for the duration of winter, all in an effort to regain the trust of our valued travel advisors and mutual customers."
Sunwing says flight reductions made since January 1 amount to just 7% of capacity, and stresses "the majority of cancellations were on seasonal routes from cities where Sunwing Airlines does not have crew bases and has to position crews from other regions."
The tour operator says the temporary commission increase "amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in additional commission per week." And Sunwing adds that it is "exploring other ways to support advisors in the months ahead, such as through bonus STAR point promotions for the upcoming summer."
The company also maintains that "most passengers were rebooked, meaning agents will eventually receive that commission and will make extra on future bookings under the temporary raise."
ACTA says it isn't enough.
"Travel agents are a crucial support to suppliers and have invested significant resources in planning and rescheduling and cancelling travel due to Sunwing's decision and are now being told they will not be compensated for their work."
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