Travel agents facing harrowing time with Air India bookings

TAFI said that travel agents were facing disruptions while booking tickets as they were unable to view, or amend bookings made in their own offices

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

Air India as Travel agents across India are unable to use Air India’s inventory in the Group Distribution System (GDS) since December 22. However, the carrier’s flights can be seen on the national carrier’s website. This is a complaint that the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), highlighted in a recent statement. The association said that travel agents were facing disruptions while booking tickets as they were unable to view, or amend bookings made in their own offices.

“Attempts to contact senior management have proved futile and salespersons have been stalling and attributing the problem to a ‘technical issue’ without any official announcement,” said the travel trade association.

“This is a nightmare during the festive season when most flights are full arriving into India and passengers need to connect to domestic destinations – often requiring rescheduling, due to delays.”

— Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI

Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI said that such disruptions and issues, coupled with zero communication to the travel trade will further erode Air India’s credibility. “It’s a shame that this once glorious airline has been reduced to such a sorry state. We’re all waiting for the house of Tata to take over the reins of the airline and we hope that the new management will work more closely with their trusted trade partners – the travel agents who have supported the national carrier at all times,” he mentioned.

The National General Secretary of TAFI said that the association members had been complaining about the matter to the airline’s call centres with a long wait time to hear a response. “This is a nightmare during the festive season when most flights are full arriving into India and passengers need to connect to domestic destinations – often requiring rescheduling, due to delays,” he said.

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