C. THOMAS NULTY: President, Associated Travel Management

For most people, the prospect of shopping for the best air fares is about as welcome as preparing income taxes. Travel agents, of course, make a livelihood out of unsorting the mess. But the Persian Gulf War and recession left the travel industry in a slump. Thom Nulty has 24 years in the travel industry. In 1984, he was named president of Associated Travel Management in Santa Ana, which handles over $150 million in travel arrangements annually. Nulty discusses changes in the travel industry with Times staff writer Chris Woodyard.

How would you assess the state of the travel market this summer?

It’s been a little slow because of the economy and concern following the Persian Gulf War. We’re starting to see some change. The airlines are getting very aggressive with fares a little earlier than usual. I think we will soon see a barrage of discount fares in the marketplace.

How will this affect the airlines?

It really won’t hurt the airlines in the short term. All the promotions you are going to see in the next few months are based on travel in the fall. These are times that are traditionally not good for leisure travel. We look at it as a good move. Business travelers cannot take advantage of these fares, in most cases, because of the restrictions.

Since it has been a slow year, do you think a shakeout is imminent among travel agents?

I would think that some travel agents who rely strictly on leisure travel and those in smaller agencies could be encountering some difficulty. Volumes are off, airlines are carrying fewer passengers.

Isn’t business travel down too?

Business travel is down, but not as much as leisure travel. Some companies are traveling more this year. You’ll find that many companies put more salespeople on the road, resulting in more business travel.

What do you forecast for the travel business? Will it rebound?

We’re looking for travel to remain the same over the next six months, but we’re hoping in the second quarter of ’92 we’ll see an upswing in leisure travel. We think business travel will pick up as soon as September. We think there’s a pent-up demand for business travel.

There was talk in the travel industry earlier this year that more people stay close to home and avoid flying on long trips. Did that occur?

I think there was a lot of that. But one of the main purposes for leisure travel is visiting friends and relatives. If they are in Boston, you are not going to drive there from California, in most cases. Certainly, there is a lot of resort travel as well.

Has international travel picked up?

There’s definitely been an increase ininternational, both leisure and business. People were concerned during the war. They were concerned about their own safety, what with the terrorism threats that kept them off the airplanes. The airlines have done a very effective job of controlling that issue.

How important is computer technology nowadays for travel agents?

Technology is very important. Let’s take air fares from Los Angeles to New York, for example. There are actually over 1,000 air fares between the airports in the two areas, and technology is really required to find the lowest fare. We’re never going to be able to get away from having human beings in the travel industry because it is a very personal business. But sometimes after a conversation, making sure you have found the very best prices requires technology.

How do you think airlines view travel agents? Would they rather handle their own ticketing?

The reality is the airlines find themselves in a position where they have a difficult time handling that. Travel agents handle close to 90% of the tickets that are out there. Airlines are really not structured to handle that volume. It’s really less expensive for an airline to have travel agents handle their tickets than to hire people to do it.

Weren’t there airlines that tried to handle their own ticketing and do away with travel agents?

They really weren’t very successful. They aren’t in business any longer. The travel agent distribution system is enormous and incredibly powerful.

Is seat assignment important to customers?

It is very critical to customers. We put a quality control card in every ticket jacket. A couple years ago, I would receive several dozen cards every week from customers complaining about their seat assignment, particularly business travelers, who were paying the highest price because they could not qualify for any discount fares and booked at the last minute. And now they were there sitting in an undesirable seat and the person sitting next to them probably paid one-third as much and was sitting right on the aisle. How good are the chances of getting a better seat just before boarding an airliner?

They have an excellent chance of doing that. I would say probably 90% of the time if you go to the gate and ask the agent if you have a chance to improve your seat, you’ll get it because 20% to 25% of the passengers with reservations do not show up.

Are more companies requiring employees to fly in coach?

The reality is very few companies over the past few years have allowed their employees to fly first class anyway. The goal is to get the lowest reasonable fare. A lot depends on airports. Just by driving 30 miles to Los Angeles, you could save several hundred dollars on fares.

On changes in the travel industry . . .

“Clearly, the larger travel management companies will continue to prosper because they are specializing in volume discounts and large corporate customers. But I believe there is a role for smaller travel agencies.”

On the need for companies to have travel policies . . .

“Every company needs to look at giving their travel company some guidelines. Travel is the third highest controllable expense for a company.”

On the confusion of air fares . . .

“Deregulation allowed airlines to price fares however they want to.”

On booking reservations on airlines that have filed for bankruptcy protection . . .

“It’s probably a safe bet if you do it in the right manner. You always want to use a credit card to purchase tickets (because) if an airline fails to honor the ticket . . . then you really do have some recourse to get your money back.”