Indian Railways: Getting Agents on Track

The traditional revenue stream of most travel agents in India, airline ticketing, has been under a cloud in the recent past with drastic commission cuts undertaken by airlines. From 12 per cent commission till 2001, commission was reduced to seven per cent in 2004. Currently at five per cent, travel agents are faced with a prospect of zero commission in the near future. Against this backdrop, the figure of about 61 per cent of Full Service Carrier (FSCs) passengers in India booking their tickets through travel agents reiterates the need for the agents to seek alternate source of revenue.