The Hindu Business Line : Travel agents suspend AI ticket sale

TRAVEL agents across the country today suspended sale of Air-India and Air-India Express tickets to protest the national carrier's decision to reduce agent commissions to 5 from 7 per cent.

In response, the national carrier has commenced sale of tickets at its offices at competitive market fares.

At the same time, the agents' associations and the airline have decided to hold another round of talks on Saturday in an effort to resolve the issue.

According to Mr Balbir Mayal, Chairman, Travel Agents' Association of India (TAAI), 2,000 association members across the country have suspended the sale of tickets of the national carrier.

However, the boycott is not total with some agents continuing to sell the airline's tickets. According to a travel agent in the city who had joined the boycott, the agency was offering passengers tickets of other competing airlines.According to an AI spokesperson, the airline was guiding passengers to travel agents who were continuing to issue tickets of the national carrier.

The airline maintained that the decision to reduce commission was a consequence of the global trend to replace agency commission with a transaction fee, which would directly benefit passengers.

In an official release today, AI said the rate of commission now stood at zero per cent in many countries such as Singapore, France, Germany and the US.

Further a 5 per cent commission, it said, was fair reward for the efforts put in by the travel agents in servicing a passenger.

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