Travel agents plan to levy transaction fee

Mumbai/New Delhi: Air passengers will have to fork out more money for travel as the domestic carriers refused to retain the 5% agency commission from 1 November. Instead, agents are now planning to impose a “transaction fee” on every ticket sold.
The nature of this transaction fee and quantum will be decided in a joint meeting by travel agents and airline representatives next week.
India’s airlines have already increased fares six times this year by imposing fuel surcharge and adding to basic fares. A passenger flying a long-distance flight pays Rs2,900 as fuel surcharge, Rs150 as congestion surcharge and Rs225 passenger service fee, apart from the basic fare.
“In principle, airlines have agreed that they will find a possible solution to include the proposed transaction fee on the ticket,” said Travel Agents’ Federation of India, or Tafi, national general secretary Ajay Prakash. “I cannot tell you what the increase for a domestic or an international ticket will be. We are trying to bundle this increase as a part of the ticket price.” Prakash added that travel agents will sit with legal and technical executives of airlines to find out the best way to implement this.
Even as the travel agents and airline companies are working out alternatives for 0% commission from 1 November, the travel agents’ associations are divided on settling the issue. At a meeting on 14 August with representatives of airlines—including National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, (which runs Air India), Jet Airways India Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd—two leading travel agents’ associations agreed to impose a transaction fee on every ticket sold, instead of the current 5% commission.
Tafi and Travel Agents’ Association of India, or TAAI, have agreed to form a committee along with representatives of airlines to finalize the modalities of charging a transaction fee on every ticket sold.
15/08/08 P.R. Sanjai and Regina Anthony/Livemint

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2008