In markets where airlines may not wish to have their own operations and/or sales office, they may nominate a general sales agent to act on their behalf for a commission.
A GSA may be nominated to represent the airline in one market/city only (e.g., Dhaka), or across an entire country (e.g., Bangladesh).
The GSA can be nominated strictly as a sales agent on behalf of the airline, or may take on a much more complex role, active as the airline’s representative in all aspects including: warehousing, airport ground handling, sales, and operations. The latter is especially useful for passenger airlines that wish to profit from cargo sold on their passenger flights, but do not wish to incur the time, money and resources required to establish a network of additional ground handling staff, warehouse staff, etc.
A knowledgeable and experienced GSA can establish all aspects of cargo handling for the airline, promote the airline’s services within that market and accept bookings on behalf of the airline.
Often, GSAs will represent many non-competing airlines, and for bookings accepted by the agent, may have the capacity to invoice the agent/forwarder directly for freight charges incurred.
This is especially helpful for the small freight forwarder, as they can establish one credit account with a GSA and have access to booking shipments to many destinations around the world, as offered by the various airlines the GSA represents.
Additionally, the GSA may not offer the most competitive rates for certain destinations, as they are strictly limited to services offered by the airlines they represent.
