Air travel may get a bit cheaper

New Delhi: Air travel may soon cost less as agents are planning to withdraw transaction fee of Rs 350-500 on each domestic and Rs 1,200-10,000 on international ticket, after facing protests from the passengers.
The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has called an emergency meeting of its over 2,000 members on Thursday to chalk out the future course of action.
"We tried hard to make this system work. But there are four main problems we are encountering — peoples' adverse reaction; airlines not having a uniform policy; aviation ministry's stand against a uniform charge and commercial. We may ask agents to call off the fee system altogether and then levy some amount that's more agreeable to clients as people are anyway haggling over these charges at present," said TAAI president Rajinder Rai.
Sources say agents are likely to move court or strike work for restoration of the earlier commission system, where agents would get their money comparatively painlessly from airlines. Nearly 85% of all tickets sales in India are through agents.
Agents and airlines have been having serious disagreements over the new system. "We wanted the 'cut and pay' system under which the transaction fee would be kept by us and ticket amount given to airlines. But the latter insisted that the entire money be given to them and then after a month we would get our money. This is not acceptable," said Rai.
Moreover, agents insisted that airlines also levy a similar charge on tickets sold directly by them so that people don't find their tickets cheaper.
20/11/08 Saurabh Sinha & Himanshi Dhawan/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008