An official from one of the travel agents’ organisations who has been informed by a high-level official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the civil aviation ministry is awaiting a nod from the law ministry on the final assessment.
“The latter will decide whether the DGCA is a competent authority to decide whether it is mandatory for all carriers operating out of India to pay commission to travel agents,” a source said.
Over the last few years, the commission rate paid by carriers to travel agents has steadily come down from a peak of 9-7% to the current 5-3%. While the domestic full-service carriers like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Indian offer 3% commission, the low-cost carriers charge a service fee which is not linked to the base fare, but is levied in the form of a flat fee.
While some foreign airlines are offering a 5% commission, about 16-18 companies are working on a zero-commission basis.
However, agents said that Resolution 810i of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that all travel agents would be remunerated reasonably by airlines.
Madhumita Mookerji/Daily News & Analysis