Agents of positive change

In a scenario in which there is no guarantee of flights not getting cancelled, travesties of travel agents is at an all-time high, juggling between customers and airlines. UFTAA is making sure that they convey plight of customers to IATA, airlines and the government.

Nisha Verma

The travel industry is going through a bad patch, said Sunil Kumar, President, UFTAA. “This uncertainty is bothering the industry and stakeholders. We had a good time in November and beginning December, but then everything started falling flat. Thereafter, the fear of Omicron and families travelling together has created a scare,” he added.

“I think this will continue for a couple of months and can eventually lead to a herd immunity. We don’t want to lose our summer business this year, and starting March we all want to be busy. There have been so many inquiries from people for April-May-June,” he said.

Looking forward

Passengers have become smart, shared Kumar. “Unlike earlier, they don’t want to pay in advance for a travel in May or June. They are just getting ready with no financial commitment. There is no ticketing from our side. However, we will have to wait and watch,” he added.

UFTAA activities

Kumar said that there are several UFTAA activities going on at present. “We have been having a lot of meetings online and our debate with airlines or IATA have not been very effective because we are online. Unless we sit across the table and put back our fights to debate on certain issues, we are not going to see brighter part of it.”

He highlighted that UFTAA’s forecast is turning true. “Airlines are getting funded by the sales of tickets for a period, which even they are not aware if flights would operate. So there is a lot of accumulation of resources via a potential sale. People have paid money, which might not come back. UFTAA has been voicing its concerns. There must be settlement as you fly, and the money gets transferred when the flight takes off or is ready to take off, not before. That’s the quintessence of our entire submission to IATA, and to the airlines,” he elucidated.

Explaining the challenges faced by customers, he said, “They pay full money upfront and one day before or one week before they know that the flight is not taking off. That is when they come to us running around for another ticket. They don’t understand the challenge we have. We can’t adjust the past money with another ticket on another airline, as that requires a process.”

What next

Kumar said that they are looking for consistency and sustainability. “Kudos to all the agents, in a country like India, where the industry earnings are not very high and yet, our agencies have kept themselves active online or offline and made themselves available to the customers. Hence, at least the customers in India must turn their heads in favour of travel agents, because we stood the test of time and we are not taking away their money,” he claimed.

Price hike

Kumar said that they can’t even explain to the customers why a ticket to USA, costing one lakh earlier, is costing two and a half lakhs today. “The reason for this is more demand than supply. Hence, some airlines have taken advantage of this,” he added.