PANJIM: The recent crashes and disappearance of commercial aircrafts have not had any effect on the frequency of travel by senior corporate personnel in the state. It however has had an adverse effect on sale of tickets for the Malaysian carrier with industry sources claiming that there has been a drop of at least twenty to thirty percent since the tragic incidents.
Pramod Rane of Air Sonic Travels, a Panjim based travel agency, said that there was an element of shock when the incidents took place but people who had to travel had to go ahead since their business depended on them having to go out and strike deals. He said “When people read about these incidents in the paper they tend to react very emotionally but then they are also aware that the airline is not responsible for these incidents, which is their logical side. People are booking tickets to travel across the country as well as to go abroad. Our corporate clients continue to book through us without any hesitations”.
Asked how many tickets he issued every month, he said it would run into a thousand odd with the agency issuing 30-40 tickets everyday. He went on to say that air crashes seem to occur every year but at no point of time did it ever result in a drop in sales. However he said his holy land tours had dropped completely due to the problems in Israel.
Aero Mundial’s Edwin revealed that none of their corporate clients had issued any notices to them to go easy on air tickets. The company which handles the air travel for V M Salgaocar and Brothers Pvt Ltd said business was as usual and when asked how many tickets were issued he refused to be drawn saying it was company policy to not reveal numbers.
Another travel agency from the city who did not want to be identified revealed that sales of tickets on the Malaysian airline had dropped dramatically and even with the airline offering 40-50% discounts on the tickets there were no takers.
This claim was backed by Francis Braganca who heads TTAG who said he had booked a business class ticket to Australia for Rs 1, 20,000 on that airline. A day after the crash the price had dropped to Rs 75,000 though it went back to old levels later. He said “Even if it is not the airlines fault people will feel a bit nervous but these are short term effects. The airline is good and it will bounce back”.
Sygenta Goa, the company that focuses on crop protection revealed that they had not received any instruction from the head office to desist from flying. P S Jagadesha the spokesperson said “People are travelling as per requirements and there has been no instructions received”.
Perhaps the final word should go to Thomas Cook a major in the travel industry. Sangita Shetye said the company had not experienced any drop in sales from its corporate clients which included most of the top corporates in the state. She said “We conduct business to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore a month which can add up to approximately Rs 25 crore a year.” Given the year the state has experienced so far these companies will hope sentiment remains positive and tickets are purchased.
