Travel agents’ strike today may affect fliers

While announcing the one-day protest across the country,TAAI president Iqbal Mulla said,“If our demand for payment of commissions is not met even after the one-day strike,we will consider an indefinite shutter down.”

Jay Bhatia,chairman (western region),TAAI,said,“Right now,the commission is paid on the base fare. We are demanding that the entire fare be disclosed to the passenger as s/he is not interested in knowing the break-up. Also,the commission should be given on consolidated fare,not the base fare.”

TAAI is also demanding regulation of air fares to prevent sudden escalation.

Association members said airlines would suffer in the long run if they did not heed their demands as the percentage of people using credit cards to book tickets in the country was far less than in the US and the UK.

They claimed a majority of Indians still booked tickets through travel agents.