Airlines will stop paying commission to travel agents from Nov 1

Bangalore: The airline industry could see another major upheaval from November 1 when all the airlines will stop paying any commission to the 3,000 travel agents across the country and instead make the agents charge a fee from the customers for every ticket sold.
From November 1, customers will have to pay a flat fee to the travel agents for each ticket they buy which will increase the total amount they pay for a ticket. Airlines till now pay five per cent commission to the travel agents for every ticket purchased by the customers.
Confirming the decision to stop paying commission to the travel agents, a top official with National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), which runs Air India told Business Line that his company will instead implement the transaction fee model (the fee charged to the customers for every transaction/ ticket) from November 1.
The airline has already sent letters to various agents last week informing them about its decision.
Travel agents belonging to Travel Agents’ Association of India (TAAI) have already accepted the transaction fee model and had even hired Tata Consultancy Services earlier to recommend the fee structure which has now been accepted by the airlines.
However, another travel agents’ body, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has in a poll conducted among its members recently refused to accept the transaction fee model.
29/10/08 K. Giriprakash/Business Line

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2008