In a missive shot off to CVC, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) have pointed out that Air India’s decision to go exclusive with Travelport, a global distribution system (GDS) with less than 20 per cent market share, is an ‘illegal’ decision taken without a transparent public auction of GDS rights.

Last month, in a move with far-reaching effect on travel industry and passengers alike, Air India ended its thirty-year-old relationship with world’s largest GDS player and data provider Amadeus. The exclusive rights were surprisingly given to Travelport, which is the subsidiary of Interglobe, company that also operates Air India’s rival carrier IndiGo. The letter says that “the connection between Travelport and IndiGo Airlines, a competitor of Air India, is also extremely relevant in terms of fair competition and business practices between airlines.”

Travel agents argue that the immediate impact will be felt by passengers whose Air India tickets are booked through agents/travel portals using Amadeus computerised reservation network. GDS is a computer network and reservation tool that holds real-time data on airline inventory, fares, availability and other such details, and passes it on to travel agents to allow them to make bookings. GDS accounts for 80% of bookings for service carriers such as Air India and being on multiple GDS or ticketing platforms ensures better reach and distribution. The letter mentions that, “ the non-Travelport bookings comprise of approximately Rs 6000 crore of Air India revenue and therefore an exclusive contract awarded by Air India to Travelport would severely reduce Air India revenue.

Air India inventory was available on all the three GDS. On June 4, Air India’s agreement with Amadeus expired and the airline pulled out its inventory after a six-month notice period. In the past one month, petitions in public interest were filed in three different high courts against Air India’s decision to make Travelport its exclusive GDS provider. Unfortunately, even after Mumbai High Court ruled in favour of travel industry and directed Air India to get back on Amadeus, the move is yet to be seen in reality.

The letter also points out that, “the illegal appointment of Travelport by Air India as its exclusive GDS partner was done without following the mandatory procedure of a public auction”.