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Airlines to overhaul the distribution of the airline ticket deal cheap"AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP"
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Mar. 19--MUMBAI, India -- Domestic airlines are attempting a radical change in their ticket distribution system through travel agents. Low-cost airlines like Air Deccan, including those that are yet to start operations like Air-India Express, Kingfisher Airlines and the Dubai based Air-Arabia, have already declared that they will not follow the conventional fixed commission system.
AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP There is a huge resistance to the change in the travel industry, and the latest manifestation of this is a stand-off between travel agents and international airlines on the issue of commission reduction. Legacy airlines led by flag carrier Air-India have raised the banner of revolt against agents, by announcing that they will cut commissions from 9 percent to 5 percent on May 1.
AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP British Airways has joined Air-India in the move while other European and Southeast Asian carriers are expected to follow suit. Meanwhile, travel agents are joining ranks, with the two leading trade associations -- the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) -- planning to shoot down the airline's plans to cut commissions.
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The agents have announced that they will boycott Air-India and stop selling the airline's tickets if commissions are cut. Commission cuts are a worldwide phenomenon, with most airlines reaching customers directly using the Internet as an alternative distribution model.
AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP "It is not possible for airlines that have been using agents for decades to switch to the Net overnight," says Oliver Evans, chief sales and marketing officer, Swiss International Airlines. The low-cost carriers have an advantage because they started with this model. In India, Air Deccan sells 35 percent of its tickets through customers booking on the Net. Several agents have boycotted Air Deccan and do not sell its tickets because it offers a lower price to customers booking directly on the Net.
AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP Air Deccan CEO G Gopinath says, "A customer who wants to fly Air Deccan on cheap fares will find a way to book them." He offers passengers the option of booking on the phone through call centres, the Internet and other new retailing venues such as petrol stations. He is planning to launch SMS bookings in the coming months. Customers choosing to book through any of these means pay 5 percent less than what they would pay if they booked through a travel agent. AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP International low-cost airline Air-Arabia, which is starting operations to India from March 26, will not pay any commissions to travel agents in India. Net bookings will be encouraged and travel agents will be given a handling fee of Rs 400 for a one-way ticket sold on the Mumbai-Sharjah route.
AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP Air-India's low-cost subsidiary, Air-India Express, which is scheduled to launch on April 29, will also follow this structure, wherein the handling fee is paid by the passenger and not the airline. Airlines are also not using the conventional high-cost global distribution systems like Amadeus and Galileo, and moving to cheaper alternatives.
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AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP How long it will take for the agency commission rates to drop to zero in India is anybody's guess. But travel agents are determined that they will put up a strong fight to put this off for as long as they can........ COMPARE AND FIND AN AIRLINE TICKET DEAL CHEAP HERE /cheap airfare home |