Travel agents have objected to national carrier Air India selecting a single Global Distribution System (GDS) for the sale of its flight tickets, as most agents are on another GDS platform, which will now not offer Air India seats.
Representatives of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) predicted that the airline is going to record a 40% drop in sales as a result of its decision. Travel agents already held one round of talks with the Air India management last week, without any outcome.
“Air India has sent shockwaves through travel trade in India after the announcement of offering its inventory solely through its select GDS and disconnecting its inventory of another,” Sunil Kumar, president, TAAI said.
Travel agents said that Air India has been reeling under tremendous financial challenges and instead of this move they should be finding ways to increase seat sales via easy access through GDS channels. “The response given by Air India is that this would save distribution costs. This is surprising since the airline wants to save ₹200 in distribution costs and lose thousands over seat sale,” Mr. Kumar said.
Agents said that this move was taken without prior discussion with agents promoting Air India. “Air India has completely ignored the support they have been getting from the agency community, who have invested extensively and continue to patronise the national carrier. Many travel agencies have been selling a large share of Air India seats on the GDS with whom the airline has disconnected its domestic inventory. For these agencies, including those who do not have access and those who frequently sell the airline seats on the GDS preferred by it, it is evident that selling the national carrier would not be an easy proposition and thus they may opt for other airlines for their customers,” Praveen Chug, president, TAFI said.
Mr. Chug said that for several established agencies, usage of GDS is governed by global agreements they have entered into and thus switching over or training their staff to get used to limited GDS access will be difficult. “Airlines have interline agreements and we agents book multiple airlines in one go, which have many different connections. With different airlines offering their inventory on a specific GDS, seamless service will be affected. GDS companies are not evenly distributed across India and are unable to service the travel trade in a uniform pattern,” he said.
TAAI and TAFI, represented by its officers, had a detailed discussion with the Air India senior management last week and conveyed that this decision of going exclusive would be detrimental to the airline and this must be urgently reviewed.
TAAI and TAFI The two associations said they are keen that Air India must not suffer any losses that would further damage its health. “Air India senior management promised to revert in a day and On Tuesday, the associations received a phone call from Air India management saying there will be no change in its stand,” agents said in a press note.
Mr. Kumar said that the most damaging part is that the airline has chosen a lose-lose proposition with its travel agencies. “With such a move now, it seems like chaos is going to reign in the coming days. The aviation sector is already reeling under the pressures of high fuel prices and unfavourable exchange rates. Under these circumstances the move by Air India, seems to be one-sided and will affect their overall sales in the long run,” he said.
