Govt may ask airlines, agents to cut transaction fee

New Delhi: Taking a strong view of the hefty transaction fee being charged by airlines and travel agents on air tickets, the government is likely
to ask them soon to either lower it drastically or do away with it completely.
The fee came into effect after airlines decided to implement "zero commission" norm for travel agents from November 1, making air travel costlier.
Since then, the seller of a ticket, either the airline or the agent, have started deducting an additional amount of Rs 350 to Rs 500 on Economy and Business Class tickets on domestic sector and between Rs 1,200 and Rs 10,000 on the international tickets, depending on the distance flown.
Official sources said there was no justification to charge such high transaction fees over and above the ticket price, which already included high fuel surcharges and congestion charges, among others. These charges were levied following massive hikes in the prices of jet fuel.While several international carriers had lowered fuel surcharges, the Indian carriers were yet do so, they said.
13/11/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008