The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has decided to stop selling packages to Singapore and withdraw its support to the city-state as a destination.
The association is demanding a 5 per cent commission on the gross fare from the Singapore Airlines. The association said this would be increased to 7 per cent if the airline fails to accept its demand by mid February.
TAAI president Rajinder Rai said they had already withdrawn support to Singapore Airlines, a member of Star Alliance - the largest airline alliance, for over a month now.
The association, which is fighting zero commission norm by the airlines, had achieved partial success by getting the domestic airlines to incorporate a transaction fee on the tickets as an alternative revenue model for the benefit of small and medium-sized agents. However, the model was abandoned as it was fraught with shortfalls like price parity, cut and pay and sunset date clauses.
As part of its efforts to work closely with its regions and chapters, TAAI on Tuesday launched a training programme here to interact and update them on trade matters. The focus is on ‘Leading the TAAI Brand’.