e-Ticketing: Boon Or Bane?

e-Ticketing has been accepted and used the world over. But can India follow suit, considering that sub-agents here outnumber any accredited travel body in the country. Vyas Sivanand reports about their concerns

Technology has definitely changed the way traditional business used to be conducted in every sphere of life. Tourism and the travel trade is no exception. For some it has been a boon while for others it has been a bane. While for accredited travel agencies, technology has been an essential tool toward business enhancement, as they have the necessary infrastructure in place to avail most of the benefits of technology, on the other hand, sub-agents have their share of complains. The latest let down for the sub-agent’s way of doing business is e-ticketing. There is obvious speculation about e-ticketing’s effects on business among sub-agents. Speaking about e-ticketing and its use amongst the sub-agents fraternity, Gayatri B N of M M Travels, Bangalore, who has recently got an IATA accreditation, says “e-ticketing has been incorporated as a tool for bookings by select agents only and that too for a few airlines. I do not think all agents are allowed to issue e-tickets as yet and definitely not the sub-agents. Sub-agents do not have an access to the new age concept. The awareness is still bleak with respect to e-ticketing. The concept is simple but one cannot predict the complications that can arise in the future, especially with respect to refunds, re-issue of tickets, change of dates etc. If the system fails at any time, then there is every possibility of agents going back to a paper ticket. Apart from this, if you do not keep the record of your printout, there is a big gap of maintaining the acts.”

Adds, Jagadish K S, partner, Sky Wings Tours & Travels, Bangalore, “e-ticketing is the future and it will definitely benefit the passenger and the IATA agents, but it will kill us as sub-agents. We get about four per cent commission for domestic travel right now from IATA agents, but we are bound to lose that soon with the coming of e-ticketing. With e-ticketing as it exists now, we face problems with service tax that we charge our customers. They are not willing to pay that, as they can easily evade it by directly going to an IATA agent. All we can do is manage our resources with the passenger and not involve the IATA agent at all. What else can we do?”

As of today a sub-agent cannot go in for e-ticketing, as he has to necessarily go through an IATA agent. Apart from that, there also exists another barrier. Previously, the sub-agent could pay directly to the airline, but since about four years they have to go through Bank Settlement Plan (BSP), which ironically for the sub-agents, is created by IATA.

Explains Gayatri, “The entire transaction is held by the bank and every fortnightly or once in a month, there is a bill from BSP which we have to pay, otherwise we are blacklisted. This applies to IATA agents, so you can imagine the pressure on sub-agents. Right now, only few agents are given the facility of e-ticketing depending on the sales. Though e-ticketing is the future, sub-agents will have a tough time unless and until some norms or regulations come up which benefit them. Even after getting an IATA accreditation, I have so much of problems to act like an IATA agent. There are so many documents that they need, it just leaves us dried out.”

Says a source from another travel agency based in Kolkata, “It will definitely be beneficial for airlines who spend huge amounts on printing tickets but the only way e-ticketing is going to benefit us sub-agents is through hidden sales. We work out a rate plan considering the customer’s demand, the airline’s offer and the IATA agent with whom we deal and use it to our benefit without anybody’s knowledge. Without twisting the system for some commission, we will not survive.”

The Indian Barrier

The main roadblock to large-scale deployment of e-ticketing is the fact that entry into Indian airports required a physical ticket. Now, by way of a ministry of civil aviation notification, passengers can enter airports with e-tickets, backed by a proof of identity. This has paved the way for full-fledged deployment of e-ticketing services in the country. But the way USA and European countries have accepted this system, will India be able to manage such a unique way of technological advancement? “No,” says a local sub-agent, “India is not prepared for e-ticketing. Forget accredited or non-accredited agents, there is no way we can imagine the Indian community and airline fraternity, which is vast and highly disorganised, to have a sophisticated and planned system like a paperless ticket. While I agree, change is inevitable, only a broader version of e-ticketing that complies with the Indian module can work in our country. I am sure if the present version of e-ticketing is implemented in the country, not only the travel agents, even the passengers and the airline will suffer. India is not Europe or USA.”

Conclusion

Sub-agents have to devise a method by which they can work with changing times. Rules and regulations, which are decided by the government seems to promise less. This has to be ’worked’ upon. The fact of the matter is that sub-agents cannot be side-lined. With the so called ’streamlined’ associations already existing, one needs to look at this section which is neglected by default and is being an innocent target of technological advancement.