Transaction fee cut to hit travel agents

Mumbai: Travel agents are feeling the pinch. With airlines scrapping the transaction fees, travel companies and other online portals may end up losing a sizeable part of their total revenues.
Players such as Akbar Travels, Thomas Cook, Mercury Travels, Makemytrip, Yatra and Cleartrip earn substantially from airline bookings during the peak season.
Makemytrip Founder and CEO Deep Kalra said, “50% of our domestic revenues come from air tickets bookings. We are monitoring the situation closely and will take appropriate steps in the next few days.” The 2,000-agent strong Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is weighing the possibility of going to court and seeking restoration of the commission structure.
However, according to a senior lawyer, the agents may not stand much of a chance in court. “Under what ground will they move the court? Any company is free to practice trade without paying anything to middle-men,” he said. An analyst with a local brokerage said that 70% of the airline tickets were sold by travel agents, with corporate bulk bookings contributing substantially to the revenues. Cancellations can sometimes be a hassle if tickets are booked online. This is where travel agents play a role.
A senior Kingfisher Airlines official said that travel agents are divided on the commission structure. There will be no problem in selling tickets without agents as more than 21 countries operate airlines with a zero commission structure, he said.
27/11/08 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008