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Scottish agents condemn BA GDS fee hike plan
The likely imposition by British Airways of a minimum 300% increase in its GDS booking fee from 50p per sector to £2 or more will hit Scottish travellers.
The claim came from Scottish Passenger Agents Association air committee convener Brian Potter who warned that business travellers will ultimately end up paying more to fly with the airline.
The SPAA is concerned that travellers starting their journeys in Scotland could pay six times on BA multi-sector journeys such as Shetland–Aberdeen; Aberdeen–London; London-destination and vice versa.
The proposed introduction of the higher charge from March 1 will have an immediate impact on current commercial agreements between corporate clients and TMCs, the association claimed.
BA is in the process of reviewing its commercial arrangements with the four major GDSs by the end of the month.
The SPAA said BA has indicated it is considering the alternative options of withdrawing its flights and fares from one or more of the GDSs, or withdrawing lower fare categories from all four in an effort to reduce its distribution costs.
The Business Travel Coalition has a petition signed by more than 60 BA corporate customers warning that they will boycott the airline over the proposed changes, which could include GDS surcharges (see previous TravelMole story)
Potter said: “Regardless of which of these options BA adopts, the choice for travel management companies and our clients will be a stark one.
“We will be forced either to use BA’s own online booking facility to source purely BA itineraries – with the resulting increased administration workload, or to pass on the increased charge to our customers; and there is little doubt that the other major airlines will quickly follow suit, should BA’s decision go unchallenged.
“However we respond, our customers – especially our Scotland-based customers – will inevitably pay more to fly on BA services.’
The SPAA’s technology committee will lobby the four major GDSs during a series of meetings scheduled for Wednesday in the hope of mitigating the effects of BA’s proposed increases.
by Phil Davies
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