Nacil faces litigation on commission issue

New Delhi: A travel agent lobby group has moved court against National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, the state-owned company that runs Air India, challenging its decision to stop paying commissions on ticket sales starting November.
The case, filed in the Kerala high court on 7 July by Iata Agents Association of India, or IAAI, alleges breach of contract by Nacil.
Iata is short for International Air Transport Association, a global aviation industry group.
Air India and Indian Airlines were merged last year into Nacil, combining the overseas and domestic carriers.
The IAAI case is based on an April 2005 letter sent to it by P.P. Singh—then Air India’s regional director and now chief operating officer of Nacil’s international low-fare subsidiary Air India Express— committing to pay a 5% commission on tickets for four years between 1 May 2005 and 30 April 2009.
In June, the group received a letter from Air India on its plan to cut the commission to zero starting November.
“This is illegal and contrary to the written assurance given to us by Singh in 2005,” said Biji Eapen, president of IAAI, which counts nearly 600 out of 2,800 travel agents in the country as its members.
07/08/08 Regina Anthony and Tarun Shukla

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Categories: NACIL Aug 2008