A few years ago I worked as a Travel Agent in your part of the world.
I think someone may need to explain this commission thingy....
Firstly, an agent who books you a flight only either schedule or charter gets a big fat zero in commission. Thats right jack s**t.
The agent is set targets and the sale of the ticket is added to their total sales target for the week/month.
The Package Holiday. Commission is earned here. It is varrible depending which agency and tour op you are using.
eg.Thomas Cook will give high commission on booking their own brands and slightly less for say a TUI group product.
The type of commission we are talking about is £3 per person on the holiday. I have known £2 per person!
The only extras to earn commission was travel insurance upgrades that was 50p per person-often I'd put it though as free insurance then do the add on...it worked out cheaper than the basic insurance.
Sometimes airport car parking, will attract some sort of commission but again its pence not pounds.
The extras such as the add-ons to you package such as seats together, upgrades, meals, sea view room, balcony, building site rooms [coz the wife likes to watch the workmen
] are added to the holiday cost but the agent doesn't make any more commission by selling these products to you...he/she still makes a humble £3 per person on the holiday.
The branch itself of course makes several pounds from you via the tour op which the agents usually hide from you.