IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) is calling on the country’s new prime minister Narendra Modi to step in and reinstate the five per cent airline commission.
The association submitted a memorandum in late May.
Despite a ruling by the Ministry of Civil Aviation ordering airlines to pay travel consultants commission last year (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 30, 2013, airlines have resisted compliance.
Other trade associations such as the Travel Agents Association of India and the Travel Agents Federation of India have also approached airlines, resulting in a few carriers granting transaction fees of up to two per cent.
Biji Eapen, president of IAAI, noted: “Airlines ask travel consultants to collect transaction fees from passengers for (passport, visa, foreign exchange, reservations and ticketing) services instead of providing their legitimate commission, which is…illegal as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Supreme Court.”
Sanjeev Mehra, managing director of Kolkata-based Aaryan Leisure & Holidays, said: “The travel trade in India has to unite in order to influence compliance by the airlines. Only commission is acceptable, not transaction fees. The trade associations should not forward separate agendas and must put forward a single, unanimous demand and stand firm.”
