http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/travel-agents-sell-away-from-zero-commission-to-offer-full-support-to-national-carriers-trying-to-bail-out-with-help-of-goi-7367
Travel Biz Monitor, 10 Jul 2009
Travel agents ‘sell away’
from zero commission to offer full support to national carriers
trying to bail out with help of GoI
According to a press release from Travel Agents Federation of India
(TAFI), with the ongoing fight on the zero commission issue between
the travel agents fraternity and Singapore Airlines (SIA) not
resulting in any solutions,
in a major show of solidarity
most travel agents across India have now refused to sell tickets
for SIA. The matter had also been taken up by
the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which in turn had
issued an ultimatum to SIA and other airlines which have abolished
commission to explain the rationale behind their
actions.
On the other hand airlines like
Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Air India have come out in
support of the travel federations and have re-instated their
commissions. Moreover, airlines from Hong Kong and China are also
espousing the agents cause. In a recent development
travel agents have thus decided to sell away from foreign carriers
as the agent-airline relationship seems to have been struck at its
root. They will henceforth promote Indian carriers like Air India,
who are trying to bail themselves out with help from the Government
of India (GoI). The travel agents community has decided to support
the national carriers.
“Discussions are on with senior officials of the national carriers
and the CMD of Air India has been most pro-active in his approach
and has expressed his willingness to consider any constructive
proposal from the travel agents which will help Air India to
improve its bottomline,” said Pradip Lulla, President, Travel
Agents Federation of India (TAFI). In a reciprocal gesture, the
travel agents have been rooting for a bailout package for airlines,
particularly Air India, hit by the global economic downturn.
“It is downright unacceptable for
foreign carriers who enter our country to hike their profits,
exploit the local parties involved and dictate terms to
them. We won’t stand for it. Rather, we’ll do
business with Indian carriers now,” added Lulla.
“It is heartening to note
that the DGCA has taken cognizance of the mater and has directed
the foreign airlines to adhere to the law of the land. We are not
asking for a bailout, merely a protection of our basic right to
livelihood,” stated Ajay Prakash, National General
Secretary, TAFI.
Compared to the first two
quarters of 2008, SIA has registered a 72.5 per cent fall in ticket
sales in 2009. Though it is partly because of the global slump,
withdrawal of agents’ support has also contributed considerably
towards this unfavorable trend. At the same time, others like Thai
Airlines have fortunately benefited from the feud. They are now the
leading carriers from India for flights bound to South East Asia
and Australia. Also, Cathay Pacific Airlines now lead in ticket
sales to the US especially sectors to San Francisco Airport (SFO)
and Los Angeles (LA) as Singapore Airlines sees its revenues on
this route whittling down to a two per cent vis-à-vis
2008.
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