The Hindu : Business : Air travel agents seek more time for e-ticket compliance

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Air travel agents seek more time for e-ticket compliance

Special Correspondent

Urge Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene at the IATA AGM

MUMBAI: The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is protesting the deadline set by the International Air Travel Association (IATA) for travel agents and airlines to withdraw paper tickets from their systems and convert to 100 per cent e-ticketing by June 1, 2008. IATA is the global apex body governing airlines and TAAI is urging the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene to prevent the implementation of the ban on paper tickets.

Cost savings

Addressing the media, C.Venkateshwara Prasad, President, TAAI, and Chairman of THE United Federation of Travel Agents Associations (UFTAA), a global association of travel agents, said, ``several carriers operating to India cannot or will not switch over to 100 per cent e-ticketing.

Most airlines do not issue e-tickets for infant and group travel and Interline travel (travel on more than one airline) will be impacted significantly. Passengers can no longer buy multi-carrier trips on a single ticket and will have to pay for each leg separately. This will increase fares by 20 to 50 per cent and also mean a higher outflow of foreign exchange.”

IATA is a global organisation with influential players from more influential countries from Europe and the U.S.

While e-tickets deliver cost savings to airlines and are a superior solution to paper tickets, there are issues like in the case of interline journeys where there is a mix of operating carriers and there is no interline e-ticketing agreement with a particular carrier on the tickets, e-ticket ineligible sectors and group travel.

Mr. Prasad urged the Government through the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene at the IATA AGM on June 2 in Istanbul to obtain a deferment of the ban of paper tickets till such time that Air India could confirm it could conform to the 100 per cent e-ticketing rule.

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