(L-R) Prem Singh, owner Punjab Travels; Gulu Laungani, owner Innovative Travel; Siva Ramachandran, Regional Vice President North America Jet Airways; Kumud Paul, owner Travel Design; Deepak Vohra, President V.I.P Travels; Sandeep Talwar, owner Tecotrav
FREMONT, CA: Indus Travel Network Association (ITNA), a non-profit organization, held its second travel agent and airline get-together at Bombay Garden on October 7. The event was sponsored by Jet Airways and attended by several leading Bay Area travel agents and several airline representatives. The first meeting was sponsored by Meera Prashad of Kingfisher Airlines. ITNA is just two months young and their future goal is to go nationwide. Officers are already talking to folks around the US such as in Dallas and Atlanta. The goals of ITNA are networking, sharing knowledge, and education.
ITNA President Kumud Paul of Travel Designs said, “We started ITNA because we were being alienated by the airlines. We wanted to bring the travel agents and the airlines together to increase our bottom line. This way we could have better networking and relations with our travel agents and with the airlines.
Deep Kumar Vohra of VIP Travels is the VP of Event Planning. Prem Singh of Punjab Travels is VP Secretary, and Gulu Laungani of Innovative Travels is VP of Membership. “ITNA is looking for folks to join the team, give ideas and input, and work as a team so that we can continue to grow and do the business that we do,” said Laungani.
As event sponsor, Jet Airways, India’s most awarded international airline, gave a presentation. Jet Airways has plans of becoming the leading international carrier that offers an exclusive experience to all its flyers.
Currently, Jet Airways has 380 daily flights to 66 destinations within India and overseas and offers a ‘Smart New Premiere Class,’ providing in their business class section what other airlines offer to first class passengers.
This new service also offers ‘Dining on Demand,’ and ergonomically designed seats. Jet Airways has direct flights through the East Coast, has partnerships with US carriers and carriers in Africa, and travels via Brussels on route to Delhi and Mumbai.
”We are a small private carrier so we identify with a lot of small agents. You need to support the Indian carriers. We will continue to provide outstanding support and we won’t undercut our pricing. We will be around to support the Indian community,” said Mamta Patankar, Accounts Manager of Jet Airways.
District Sales Manager of Air India, Ferdoas Nagarvala, who has served Air India for 42 years said, “I really wish that Air India or another Indian carrier would fly to San Francisco because we are giving the golden goose on a silver platter to non-Indian carriers.”
Regional Sales Manager of Kingfisher, Meera Prashad, was proud of the Indian travel industry in the Bay Area. She said, “It’s a wonderful networking opportunity. It’s great that they have put together ITNA. It shows the unity and strength of the Indian community. Each of these agents has a very loyal clientele. It’s a very good sign to see them come together to share ideas and support each other.”
ITNA’s next event is on November 11, 2010 at Arya Global Cuisine in Cupertino and it is sponsored by Qatar Airways.
Kavita Arora is Anchor & Co-Producer of Sitaarre TV
Kavita Arora
India Post News Service
