BSP Link Charges – The Realities
The Indian Travel Agents should be aware that they are governed under IATA Resolution 818g and that any fees or additional charges over the normal IATA accreditation fees has to be tabled, discussed and approved by the concerned APJC-India for implementation. It is pointed out that the Agent Representatives in APJC-India had coordinated with IATA for the briefing session workshops held on a pan-India basis from 14 - 29 September 2016 and charged Rs.700 per participant.
This evidently demonstrates that IATA had indeed discussed the new ‘BSP Link Charges’ in APJC-India in May 2016 and that the Agent Representatives had either naively or expressly approved the same.
Whereas, the Agent Representatives in APJC are taking the ordinary Travel Agents for a ride by issuing circulars claiming that they had strongly protested to IATA, requested for a dialogue and even delegated legal counselors to study the possibilities of legally cancelling the BSPlink charges. Appears to be a face-saving technique to impress upon everybody that they are ceaselessly involved in communications, discussions and interactions with IATA for that purpose!!
In the past years, the good old Agent Representatives in APJC-India have been allowing IATA and its Member airlines to impose ‘Zero’ commission, Ticketing Authority Process (TAP) permitting airlines to selectively appoint agents and the Weekly Payment System (WPS). Yet again, APJC-India has been silent spectators when the Travel Agents Fraternity were charged with US$30 per month by IATA BSP as ‘Enhanced User Account’ charges in violation of Rule 5.2 of the IATA BSP Manual in 2011. This is being allowed when the IATA machinery itself has totally failed to honour its own commitment to pay commission as per the PSA Agreement under IATA Res 824.9.
On the contrary, the Agent Representatives have repeated the tactics to pacify Travel Agents over this illegal BSP Link charge as being an inevitable requirement of IATA while, interestingly, highlighted and motivated Travel Agents to become part of the money-minting mechanism of the ‘Joint Bank Guarantee’ system.
The IAAI Kerala State Executive Committee Meeting held on 27th April 2017 strongly voiced protest against IATA and APJC-India for the irrational and illegal implementation of additional charges while depriving rightful remuneration to the Travel Agents thereby forcing them, for the sake of survival, to additionally charge customers in violation of the Supreme Court Order and the National Law that prohibits the collection of any charges other than the ticket fare.
The Executive Committee reaffirmed that the Indian National Law – the Aircraft Act 1934, Aircraft Rules 1937 – and the DGCA Order of 5th March 2010 and MoCA Order of 16th September 2013, all categorically define that commission is the rightful remuneration of the accredited Travel Agents. The Meeting also condemned the salient role played by the Agent Representatives in allowing IATA to implement the BSP charges very cleverly and requested the Travel Agents Fraternity to expose to the entire Travel Trade all those responsible for this betrayal.
The Executive Committee Meeting also criticized the Agents Representatives for their inaction in not insisting on the reconstitution of APJC-India as per IATA PAConf New guidelines of January 2014. Appendix ‘F’ very clearly mandates that the Agents Representatives in APJC-India should equally represent all the National Travel Trade Associations and that the Chairman is to be elected from the total of a maximum 18 Members that includes the 9 Airline Representatives too.
The reason for keeping IAAI out of APJC-India is quite evident as it is an open fact that, if IAAI becomes a part of APJC-India, IAAI will not allow or tolerate any such irregularities in APJC-India.
The simple question is – for how long can the truth be concealed? Either today or tomorrow, the Industry will certainly come to know the actual facts and the truth.
News By : Editorial Desk | Posted On: May 3 2017
