Carlson Wagonlit Travel has signed a deal with British Airways and its sister airline Iberia which, it says, will allow its clients to avoid paying a surcharge for GDS bookings.
It comes days after the airlines, which are bringing in a €10 fee for indirect bookings on November 1, signed a similar agreement with rival TMC heavyweight American Global Business Travel.
CWT refused to disclose details of the deal but said it highlights its ‘long-standing partnership’ with BA and Iberia and its ‘mutual commitment to the concept of~new distribution capabilities (NDC) to drive improved product differentiation’.
Lufthansa was the first airline to introduce a fee for GDS bookings, back in September 2015, causing an uproar in the agent communication.
A coalition of trade bodies and consumer groups has since written to the EU to demand an inquiry into what it sees as non-competitive practices by the airlines.
