TAAI/TAFI resolve to restore agents’ legitimate remuneration by all airlines – domestic and international – after Supreme Court directive to airlines to scrap transaction fee.
MUMBAI – TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) and TAFI (Travel Agents Federation of India) have resolved to work together to restore legitimate remuneration to all travel agents in India following the order passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No 8771 of 2012, on 23rd January, 2013, where airlines were directed not to charge transaction fee in any form, while selling air tickets on both domestic and international Sectors.
The associations have made representations to airlines to immediately restore legitimate remuneration. Associations have made representations to Secy. Ministry of Civil Aviation and to DGCA to kindly intervene in the matter and issue suitable directions to take action in this regard and also issue directions to the Airline Corporations operating to and from India to pay reasonable commission to Travel Agents as the same is inclusive in the definition of Tariff under Sub Rule 3 of Rule 54A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
Mr Iqbal Mulla, President of TAAI and Mr. Zakir Ahmed, President of TAFI have said that all Airlines will have to comply with the law of the land. Both have appealed to Airlines to fairly remunerate Travel Agents considering all inputs of costs and not measly token. Both Associations have pledged to work amicably with all Airlines to safeguard Interests of all concerned ensuring transparency to Travelling Public. They stressed the point that Tourism/Aviation Industry is one of the largest contributors of Foreign Exchange earnings to Government of India.
Official statement from Mr Iqbal Mulla, President of TAAI: “It is the principals who must lead and resolve this issue – and in this case it is the airlines. Across industries and across the globe, no principal-agent relationship can survive without the existence of due consideration, in this case commission. The abolition of commission to the distribution channel – in this case the travel agents – is tantamount to the entire contract being termed null and void.
Even though the SC directive is directed at the airlines, it really only affects the travel agents. By taking this issue up, we are trying to protect the travel community as well as the direct consumers who will ultimately have to bear the brunt of this. We want this infringement to be curtailed at any cost. We have presented our case to DGCA and the Civil Aviation ministry.
We are now in the process of taking legal recourse and approach the SC for clarification and modification of the original directive. In case the travel agents are not reasonably remunerated by the principals (airlines), I am afraid the agents will be forced to stop selling tickets of such airlines w.e.f. March 1, 2013, thereby causing tremendous hardship to travelers across India.”
The need of the hour, Mr Mulla added, is the survival of the travel agents in India which will have direct impact on travel and tourism in this country because as on date a travel agent is neither getting commission nor Transaction Fee for sale of tickets to passengers and airlines are financially benefitted from the present situation which is being exploited by them. Otherwise this situation will soon lead to wide-scale unemployment in the travel and tourism industry, losing of foreign exchange which is so important to the state exchequer, decrease of business deals with overseas agents, creating consolidation, threat of more defaults by portals on OTAs and consolidators. In fact, small agents will simply perish. Both the presidents have pledged to arrive at a logical conclusion on the present impasse.
An emergency meeting of TAAI/TAFI Managing Committee meeting was scheduled on Monday, February 11, 2013 at 11am at Hotel Ambassador, Churchgate, Mumbai. Following that a press meet was called to update the media on the current impasse in the travel trade after the ruling of the Supreme Court of India directing the airlines not to charge transaction fee in any form, while selling tickets on domestic and international sectors.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
