BA, IB plan $14 GDS fee

BRITISH Airways and sister carrier Iberia have announced they will follow Lufthansa in charging fees for GDS bookings.

From 01 Nov, a charge of €9.50 (AU$14) will be added to all bookings not made via the airlines’ own websites or direct sales channels, parent company IAG confirmed on Fri.

“We will continue to work with the GDS providers to distribute our content to valued agency partners via existing solutions, however these systems and their traditional technology solutions currently carry significantly greater costs to BA and IB,” the carriers said in a statement.

The announcement triggered an immediate fall in the share prices of major GDSs.

Amadeus and Travelport shares dropped 4% on Fri, while Sabre lost 1.8%.

The charge excludes bookings made via the airlines’ New Distribution Capability (NDC) which features rich content.

It will be automatically collected through a Q charge on ticketing and will be visible as a distinct line item within the fare quote line on the ticket.

The move follows a similar GDS fee of €16 (AU$24) introduced by Lufthansa in 2015 ( TD 03 Jun 13).

Sabre said it had been in discussions with IAG on opportunities to “drive greater value and revenue”.

“It is therefore disappointing to see BA/IB introduce a surcharge that will impose costs and inconvenience for those using the GDS channel,” a Sabre spokesperson said in a statement.

“Sabre will continue to seek an agreement that delivers value and meets the revenue needs of the IAG airlines; as well as the choice, transparency and convenience demanded by travel agencies and consumers.”