Travel agents across the country threatened to boycott leading foreign carriers like British Airways as the carriers plan to discontinue paying commission to them.
NEW DELHI: Travel agents across the country on Thursday threatened to boycott leading foreign carriers like British Airways and Delta Air from this month as the carriers
plan to discontinue paying commission to them.
Major travel agents's associations like Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) and The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will meet on Friday to chart out their course of action to deal with the growing number of foreign airlines, who have either stopped paying the commission or plan to do so in the future.
"All major associations, including TAAI, TAFI, IAAI and IATO, are meeting tomorrow. Most likely we will boycott Delta Air and British Airways from this month," TAAI president Rajji Rai said.
The travel agents have already discontinued selling Singapore Airlines tickets and the sale has gone down by over half in three days since the agents' action, Rai added. The decision of British Airways and Delta Air to do away with agents' commission from April 1 has come at a wrong time, Rai said.
"When other airlines decided not to pay commission, these carriers said they would back us. Now they have made a u-turn," he added.
Attempts to get comments from British Airways and Delta did not yield results. Besides, other foreign airlines -- Lufthansa, Air France, Continental Airlines and United Airlines -- too have decided not to pay the commission. However, travel agents will first
deal with British Airways, Delta and Singapore Airlines and then decide on others, Rai said.
Major Indian carriers -- Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher, which had done away with the commission fee last year, had to relent to pay to travel agents after being
boycotted by the travel agents.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}