A letter from the Emirates to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on February 27, 2017, came as a shock to the travel agents as it said the airline has revised the standard IATA commission from 3% to 1% from, effective April 1, 2017. However, the letter mentions that the tickets booked prior to April 1 will continue to earn 3% standard commission.
Commenting on its decision, Emirates in the letter to IATA said, “Volatility has become the new normal in global aviation. Market, industry and customer dynamics add to the complexity of our business. So as the world economy and industry changes, so are we.”
Biji Eapen, National President, IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), has written a letter to Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President - India and Nepal, Emirates, seeking an explanation for the downward revision along with the demand for retraction of the revised commission rate. Eapen said, “Emirates in the last decade has grown quite handsomely in the Indian market and has emerged as the unofficial flag carrier of India. This has happened because of the continuous efforts of the Indian travel trade, in particular by IATA members. The reduction of commission rates cannot be accepted straight away and we seek a valid answer from Emirates. If Emirates fails in reworking on the commission rates for us, it will be nothing less than a tragedy as the years of long relationship shall be disturbed and we may look for other options providing better business opportunities.”