DGCA raps foreign airlines on agents' fee

Mumbai: The ongoing tussle between a host of foreign airlines operating in India and the travel agents on the issue of payment of commission by
the former has taken a turn in favour of the agents, putting airlines on a sticky wicket.
Acting on a directive from the Karnataka High Court, director general of civil aviation (DGCA) has issued a letter to the airlines, raising questions if paying zero commission to agents and then asking customers to pay what was earlier being paid by the airlines, was anti-consumer.
Among the three points raised in the letter, DGCA asked the airlines to explain why customers should be forced to bear an extra cost which ideally should be borne by the airlines. At stake is the question if annually customers will now be forced to shell out thousands of crore extra as agency commission that otherwise should have been paid by the airlines. It also raises the question 'Is 0% remuneration a remuneration at all?', a Mumbai-based travel agent pointed out.
Since late last year, about 16 foreign airlines that included Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, North West Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and United Airlines reduced commission for travel agents to 0%. In the suit filed in HC, Travel Agents Association of India had alleged that these airlines were misinterpreting an IATA resolution and saying payment of 0% commission was well within the meaning of paying some commission.
03/09/09 Partha Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Foreign Sep 2009