The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has said it is pleased with Air India’s agreement to pay commissions to Indian IATA-affiliated travel agencies for their ticket sales.

This followed a meeting between the two parties, in which the TAAI proposed the measure.

“We are happy that Air India agreed to the proposal from TAAI, after our recent meeting, that they must remunerate ALL IATA agencies irrespective of their size, for the sale of all domestic and international passages,” said TAAI president, Sunil Kumar R.

“Our emphasis was to connect Air India with more IATA agencies in India and have them ticket directly. What’s the point that our national carrier is not actively sold directly by a large percentage of IATA agencies in India?”

He added that this “important” decision will encourage more agencies to deal directly with Air India, rather than through intermediaries.

“The additional two percent to every IATA agency without any target is an excellent move to offer Air India, the “market leadership” in India. In most countries of the world, the national carrier has a huge prominence and there’s great loyalty exhibited from the travel agencies and passengers,” Kumar stated. “This move can be a game-changer and offer to Air India an opportunity to win over the market.

“We appreciate and acknowledge this initiative from Air India and thank them to have considered this proposal from TAAI,” he concluded.