Fliers to soon be rid of transaction fee burden

Kolkta/Mumbai: Finally, some cheer for fliers. The transaction fee they had to pay travel agents, mostly for tickets on foreign carriers, will soon be done away with.
Nine months after a directive by the Kerala high court, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued a directive that agents will have to stop charging transaction fee from customers.
The agents had started levying this arbitrary fee after several airlines stopped paying them a commission. DGCA has now ordered the carriers to start paying up, pointing out that zero-commission has made consumers cough up more in the form of transaction fee.
“An unscrupulous agent can charge an exorbitant amount. The system of zero-commission also gives rise to market dominance by some big agents, who are paid hefty amounts by the airlines in the name of productivity,” says DGCA.
“Over 90% of Indian fliers travelling abroad — including corporate clients — purchase tickets via agents. The directive will let us sell tickets at the price that the airline sells over the counter or online,” said Travel Agents’ Federation of Eastern regional chairman Anil Panjabi.
13/03/10 Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2010