Agents reach out to MoCA

Taking a step further in their discussion on travel agent issues, TAAI recently met the civil aviation minister. In fact, both TAFI and TAAI have already individually written to MoCA and Air India regarding their concerns, seeking redressal.

Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, had a joint meeting with Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation and Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of Tourism & Culture (I/C), who initiated it. Also present were Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Tourism; Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism and Usha Padhee, Deputy Secretary, Civil Aviation.

Speaking on the same, Mayal said, “The main idea was to discuss how to create demand. We have many issues regarding refunds, and we cannot create demand when our money is not there. We talked about opening of demand-based routes under the UDAN scheme for destinations in Northeast India, Khajuraho, Orchha, Dehradun, etc. The Minister also said that they would like to start with helipcopter charters to places in Uttarakhand, the Northeast states, and Goa. He was happy with the way things were progressing. We also talked about antibody and RTPCR testing for people coming into India, so that we feel safe on entry and exit from the country, and there should be no quarantine required in case the test is negative. Regarding refunds, he also said that they will soon be coming out with a process for the same. They will get all the airlines to adhere. We also talked about protection from airlines and remuneration, if fares are capped, and also about insurance and credit card payments. After listening to our issues and suggestions, the Minister said that there will be a follow-up meeting to take this further, and I am looking forward to it.”

Mayal also spoke about opening of skies for domestic as well as international routes. There were discussions on other points including challenges of the trade due to the pandemic and changes required to enhance business of travel and tourism by agents.

On Air India

In another development, both TAAI and TAFI have recently written to CMD, Air India and Minister of Civil Aviation regarding the national carrier’s social media posts and communications to travellers, asking them to book on their website and verify the airfare with the airline before booking with agents.

Condemning the same, Mayal requested Air India to withdraw the statement. “We have always supported Air India and thanked them when the Vande Bharat Mission flights were opened to agents. However, we give add-on services to our clients that can include credit, delivery of ticket, transportation to and from the airport, and a bouquet of other services. Hence, no one can determine if we charge a service fee or not,” she said.

TAFI, in its letter to CMD of Air India, asked about the anomaly that has been happening on the GDS system when it comes to agents booking their flights. Sharing more details, Pradip Lulla, Acting President and VP, TAFI, said, “What we are experiencing is that many of the flights that are mainly being operated by Air India right now under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ get sold immediately when they are released on the GDS. These flights are also sold on the airlines’ website. The same thing happens there, too. Many of the new flights that are being introduced such as to Hong Kong were not even reflected on the GDS and only on the website. I have written to Air India asking why this is happening.”

He explains that it is quite intriguing that when the flights open, the inventory is totally sold out within minutes, and sometimes even at the opening of the flight there are no seats available. “We feel very disheartened because we as agents are not able to service our clients. But we can book inventory for other airlines such as Lufthansa, Emirates and Etihad, which have also introduced their bubble flights,” Lulla said.

He added that there is also some sort of misinformation circulating on Twitter that certain agents are misusing the airline inventory. “I have asked Air India to share the names of these agents with us. If they are TAFI members, we will look into this matter and check. Any misuse by a few agents should not affect other TAFI members and the trade at large. Hopefully, we will get to the bottom of this issue soon,” he shared. Another problem that agents are facing is that they cannot make a name change on the GDS. “If our clients need a change in name, it has to be done with the assistance of the airline staff as only they can do it from their system,” Lulla explained.