British Airways has been criticised for introducing a £4.50 levy on all bookings made with a credit card through intermediaries, such as travel agents and travel management companies.
The Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) has criticised the airline for introducing the fee without consulting its members. It is worried other airlines may follow BA’s example and introduce a similar fee to bring travel agent’s global distribution system platform into line with other distribution channels such as airline website where the fee is already levied.
Mark Cushieri, chair of industry affairs at ITM’s, said its primary concern “is the presentation of fare data before and after booking” and what “impact product changes will have on this data”. The institute is also disappointed by the low level of consultation airlines have with buyers.
Cushieri said: “There are a lot of buyers quite angry about the weekly announcements of cost increase that keep falling out of airlines press offices.”
American Airlines recently introduced a surcharge on bookings made through the Travelport GDS platforms, which the ITM is also investigating.