Travel agents seek to end row, approach Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: In their ongoing agitation against Singapore Airlines, representatives of the Travel Agents Association of India, or Taai, and Travel Agents Federation of India, or Tafi, have decided to approach Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to mediate in the imbroglio, said Rajji Rai, president of Taai.
Rai said Thackeray is expected to revert soon. “Everything will be clear on 2 April,” he said. “Thackeray is an important political figure in Maharashtra.”
Late in 2008, Singapore Airlines decided to do away with the 5% agent commission on each ticket; in retaliation, at least half a dozen travel agents associations boycotted the carrier. The travel agents maintain that the zero commission model will not work in India.
Some other carriers, both domestic and international, had earlier gone back on their zero commission policy and reached an agreement with travel agents for a 3% commission on gross fare of a ticket. That deal, however, was struck after the agents took help from CPI(M). Biji Eapem, president of the Iata Agents Association of India, or IAAI, and other travel agent associations had involved various other political parties to lobby for them.
“We continue to be open to dialogue with our agents to come to a mutually beneficial solution to the issue and have offered them a performance-linked incentive scheme. Separately, we are also engaging with individual agents who continue to ticket Singapore Airlines,” said C.W. Foo, Singapore Airlines’ general manager (India).
“The agents are an integral part of our business but they must understand that not all the agents give us the same amount of business and so it is only good business sense that the ones who give more volumes get incentives,” Foo said.
For their part, travel agents are also concerned about resolving the issue, even as they continue to dare each other. “When we started agitating against the airlines in December, it was not our intention to fight, but it is more than a 100 days now and we have to get this issue resolved,”Rai said. “Among other things, we are planning to surrender the ticket stock that each agent gets and also write to the Singapore Prime Minister.”
02/04/09 Sudha Menon and P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2009