{"id":19369,"date":"2022-03-29T18:27:38","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T12:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=19369"},"modified":"2022-03-29T18:27:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T12:57:39","slug":"air-india-bans-travel-agents-from-selling-canada-tickets-over-gouging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/29\/air-india-bans-travel-agents-from-selling-canada-tickets-over-gouging\/","title":{"rendered":"Air India bans travel agents from selling Canada tickets Over gouging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At a time when India has just restarted scheduled commercial flights to international destinations, agents wonder whether the Air India ban against them is an ill-timed move or a well-timed one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poppycock, a sham, baffling, irrational\u201d \u2014 Indian agents reserved the choicest adjectives to describe Air India\u2019s action that bans them from booking tickets for Canada.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Air India | Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The airline has resorted to this measure to penalize agents selling tickets to harried passengers at three to four times the original fare, according to information in the Indian media,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with India having extended its skies for international scheduled flight operations from Sunday, local agents feel the airline has smartly bypassed them to sell directly to the consumers. The need for flights between the two countries is very high and Air India is one of only two airlines with a nonstop Canada connection from India, Air Canada is a different<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides its large Indian diaspora, Canada is home to thousands of Indian students. As per the Canadian Bureau for International Education, the highest percentage (34 percent) of inbound students arriving in Canada was from India in 2020. The number of Indian students visiting Canada has nearly doubled between 2017 and 2019, to 219,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air India<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Air India<\/a>, a government-run airline, was given over to the Tatas in January after they won a bid to acquire the airline. Some reports have also said that this move against agents is a definite reminder of the rich legacy of fair, ethical, and transparent practices woven into the corporate ethics of Air India<\/a>\u2019s new owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digital age, every ticket issued is done so after directly accessing the airline\u2019s inventory and after the airline approves it, said Ajay Prakash, president of Travel Agents\u2019 Federation of India (TAFI). \u201cI fail to understand from where this whole story of agents blocking tickets and then selling them at four times the price is originating. Anyone working with an airline reservation system would know this can be traced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air India stayed unavailable for comment and has not responded to Skift\u2019s queries on the ban.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fare Gouging Is Real, But How About Tracking Perpetrators?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fare gouging was a reality last year when travelers had to shell out ridiculously high fares to fly out of India. While Prakash admitted to the escalation of fares last year, he also noted that the airline could easily track the erring agents. \u201cThere is a record of where the booking originated down to the IP address of the computer-operated to sell the ticket. Why this knee-jerk response now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Air India | Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Echoing Prakash\u2019s sentiment, Pradip Lulla, chairman and managing director of Cupid Travels, hinted at the freehand that airlines have in the scheme of things. \u201cCarriers have the inventory in their hands, control the PNR and introduce refund policies. They also decide the fares. India\u2019s directorate general of Civil Aviation only provides a fare range. So, with all this access, even if someone manages any wrongdoing, airlines can easily figure out who.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian travel agents <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Agents dubbed this move of cutting off the entire segment of Indian travel agents counterproductive, specifically when the inventory is open to overseas agents and online travel agencies registered overseas. Travel trade representatives say the airline could have instead blocked the agents misusing the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, read <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n