Agents, travel portals not to sell Jet, JetLite tickets

05 Dec 2008

1

New Delhi: In a sign of escalating tensions, travel agents and online portals have stopped selling tickets of Jet Airways, the country's largest private carrier, and its low-cost subsidiary JetLite as a protest against the abolition of the 5 per cent commission to agents from 1 November. Though Kingfisher and Air India too have stopped commissions on ticket sales, agents are focusing on Jet as the market leader. 

Now, passengers who wish to book flights with either Jet or JetLite will have to log on to their websites or visit the airlines sales office. Jet Airways and JetLite together account for 40 per cent of domestic airline revenues.

The decision was taken by six travel agent associations and travel portals at a meeting in Delhi on 1 December. It is estimated that travel agents and online portals generate more than 85 per cent of ticket sales for airlines.

As a pointer of things to come, Ajay Prakash, secretary, Travel Agents Federation of India, said "no airline should feel complacent". Prakash also said Jet executives had requested another meeting with the federation.

According to statistics presented at the 1 December meeting, Jet's daily revenues amount to more than Rs18 crore, of which the agents account for Rs16 crore.

All major travel portals like Cleartrip, Yatra and Ezeego1 are either not displaying the airline as a travel option or showing airline as a "blocked" airline.

The boycott has been set in motion after eight meetings between airlines and agents failed to resolve the issue. The airlines have asked agents to levy a transaction fee on customers of Rs350 to Rs10,000 per ticket in lieu of commission, which the agents are reluctant to do in a falling market.

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