Agent

Agency is a commercial relationship whereby one party expressly or implicitly agrees for the other to act on his or her behalf. 

The key features of an agent include:

• owing a duty of care to the principal;
• an obligation to account to the principal;
• remuneration by commission rather than by way of private profit;
• marketing and promoting the principal’s products;
• authority to collect payment, and apply and collect cancellation fees on behalf of the principal.

Usually the agent is the party that’s providing an outlet for the consumer to purchase travel services from a principal. The agent won’t enter into contract with the customer, but will arrange for the customer to enter into contract with the principal.

See Financial Protection for information about ABTA’s financial protection rules for agents.