At this month's UFTAA (United Federation of Travel Agents' Associations) Congress in Manila, which ARTA Canada attended, several matters were discussed which involved consequential changes to agency rules and resolutions made by IATA at the 7 October 2008 Passenger Agency Conference (PAConf) in Geneva.

ARTA Canada has expressed concerns to UFTAA that the required IATA and airline consultation with travel agents on matters affecting Canadian travel agencies apparently did not take place. The local Agency Program Joint Council (APJC) for Canada is represented by ACTA, and on information and belief, no meeting to discuss proposed changes to the agency program and rules was convened. Accordingly, new resolutions and changes to existing resolutions were approved by IATA at PAConf without any input from those affected by them. Among the key matters decided by the airlines at PAConf which have raised concerns were:

- Changes were made to the Travel Agency Commissioner program to "clarify" limits of jurisdiction of the Commissioner's authority to hear and decide cases, including a revision to arbitration rules.

- Amendments were made to the Card Sales Rules to "clarify" changes authorized by a mail vote effective in June 2008 eliminating ADM disputes for chargebacks and allowing IATA to declare an agency in default in circumstances where the IATA Agency Administrator is notified by a BSP Airline of irregular activity by an agent which causes a chargeback.

- Changes were made to remove final jurisdiction on financial criteria for IATA accreditation from local APJCs and transfer such final jurisdiction to PAConf itself.

On a more positive note:

- A proposed resolution was defeated which would have included agent sales via an airline's web site to be governed by the Passenger Sales Agency Rules and be covered by the financial protections provided by the Agency Programme. The applicable reporting and remittance conditions established for a BSP country/area was also to apply to such sales. The matter has been referred back to committee.

- A resolution was passed to establish a new category of IATA accredited agent to be known as an "On-line Travel Agent", effective 01 January 2009, which would not have any physical sales outlets and would therefore have no requirement criteria for premises and security.

- Changes were approved to relax agency location security requirements in various resolutions to reflect the move to 100% electronic ticketing.

ARTA Canada will review the detailed minutes of the October 2008 PAConf as soon as they are released and continue to progress concerns through UFTAA regarding any matters which have negative impact on Canadian agencies.

Travel agencies are reminded that they have until tomorrow, Friday, 31 October 2008 to apply for free membership in ARTA Canada. Complete details and a membership application is available online at www.artacanada.ca/joinfree.

About ARTA Canada

ARTA Canada is the largest non-profit federally incorporated professional association of travel retailers in Canada, the members of which consist exclusively of travel agencies and travel agents. In addition to advocating fair and equitable treatment of travel consumers, ARTA Canada represents the commercial and strategic interests of its member travel agencies and travel agents in a variety of national and provincial domains including regulatory and legislative matters, automation, technology, sales and marketing, and distribution. ARTA Canada is the strategic partner in Canada of the U.S.-based Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA). ARTA Canada is the Canadian member of UFTAA, the United Federation of Travel Agents' Associations. For more information about ARTA Canada, please visit www.artacanada.ca.

www.artacanada.ca ARTA Canada Joins UFTAA ARTA Canada Admitted into UFTAA Travel Agencies Have Until 31 October 2008 to Join ARTA Canada Free of Charge   P R E S S     R E L E A S E Manila, Philippines, 22 October 2008: The United Federation of Travel Agents' Associations (UFTAA) announced at its 42nd Congress and General Assembly held here this week that it has approved ARTA Canada's request for membership in the worldwide association.   UFTAA, created in 1966, is an international forum where matters affecting the world travel industry are addressed and which represents travel agents' activities before various worldwide bodies, governmental authorities, and suppliers of services. UFTAA is the largest travel agency "umbrella" organization, the members of which are the national travel agency associations in over 80 countries. ARTA Canada President Bruce Bishins was asked to address UFTAA members and provide an update on and insight into the challenges faced by retail travel agencies in the Canadian marketplace. Bishins' speech to the worldwide delegates of UFTAA was very well received, and in many respects, echoed and confirmed that travel agencies around the globe are facing very similar issues. "We are delighted to join UFTAA and to leverage our collective experiences in paving a new, collaborative path in defending and enhancing the role of travel retailers around the world. I was very impressed with the global strategies detailed by UFTAA's delegates and board of directors and feel that ARTA Canada will benefit from and contribute greatly to these important initiatives", said Bishins. Travel agencies are reminded that they have until Friday, 31 October 2008 to apply for free membership in ARTA Canada. Complete details and a membership application is available online at www.artacanada.ca/joinfree. About ARTA Canada   ARTA Canada is the largest non-profit federally incorporated professional association of travel retailers in Canada, the members of which consist exclusively of travel agencies and travel agents. In addition to advocating fair and equitable treatment of travel consumers, ARTA Canada represents the commercial and strategic interests of its member travel agencies and travel agents in a variety of national and provincial domains including regulatory and legislative matters, automation, technology, sales and marketing, and distribution. ARTA Canada is the strategic partner in Canada of the U.S.-based Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA). ARTA Canada is the Canadian member of UFTAA, the United Federation of Travel Agents' Associations. For more information about ARTA Canada, please visit www.artacanada.ca.