What will be the impact when the five major airlines this week start charging travel agents additional fees to book flights?
It’s bad news for air travelers, concludes Gazettte.com in Colorado Springs. “But even worse for travel agents who have seen customers drift away to the internet to book their tickets directly.”
Continental, US Airways, Northwest, United and American plan to start charging agents another $3.50 for each segment of each ticket booked through GDS.
A non-stop flight has two segments, so it will cost an additional $7. A roundtrip ticket with one connection will cost another $14.
The airlines say the fee will offset higher distribution and administrative expenses. Their obvious expectation is that it will drive more flyers to airline Web sites.
Most travel agencies are expected to pass the fee on to consumers.
Report by David Wilkening
