Issuance Of Blanket Bans By Few Airlines On Sub-Agents Is Unjustified: Dantas

“The decision taken by few airlines to block bookings made by sub-agents on the CRS systems, needs to be reviewed,” says Karl Dantas, president, ETAA. In an interview with Reema Sisodia, he voices his grievances, requesting airlines to review their decision

The sub-agents fraternity has yet another issue that has emerged in the recent past. Few airlines have taken the decision to impose a blanket ban on all sub-agents and block bookings made by them on the CRS systems. Whether performers or non-performers, everyone have been placed under a single umbrella of being that of defaulters. Questions have been raised as to why only the sub-agents fraternity been singled out. According to Karl Dantas, president of Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), there are a number of IATA recognised agents who have been faultering and following unfair trade practices. He feels that it is prejudiced to brand the non-IATA agents only as defaulters, as there are a number of IATA agents who are also at fault.

There have been a number of sub-agents who have been part of the travel business for decades. They are known for their services and also hold clear business records and are established names in the industry. These genuine travel service agents with a professional set up have also been part of this new rules imposed by few airlines. Dantas feels that it is justified to reprimand those sub-agents who have followed inaccurate business procedures. This rule should not be applied to only sub-agents but also to IATA agents who have been defaulters. He feels that it is important to remove the bad apples from the system, which includes both IATA, non-IATA. The just way of functioning would be when the airlines would penalise non-performers across the board. A member of the TAAI fraternity also supported his view point and felt that instead of blocking the entire group it is important to identify the faulty players in the industry.

Dantas further added that, “I am making strong appeals to the entire sub-agents community to join the ETAA force. They should not think of the association only when there is a crisis. The association can be the right medium for them to vent out their grievances. These are sub-agents who think of ETAA only when there is a crisis.”

Giving an example he mentions that, “In the recent times, there have been consulates who have requested for ID cards from employees working with travel companies across the board. It is a positive move as providing ID cards to the employee is an essential step that serves a number of purpose. There are sub-agents who call up ETAA hoping that ETAA would grant them these ID cards. But the fact remains that ID cards have to be provided by individual companies. Hence one should not look to ETAA only to gain facilities. Working as a team would help strengthen the non-IATA agent’s position in the business.”