Air France has announced that it will introduce a surcharge for all flights booked through the GDS from April 2018.
What Is GDS?
GDS stands for global distribution system, a computerised system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers. It is often used to compare prices and features of airlines, hotels, car rental companies and travel agencies.
Why a GDS Surcharge?
Air France KLM are the latest in a long line of airlines to make this move. It has become common for carriers to penalise travellers who book through a third party system and not directly with the airline, or through an official agency network.
Who is Affected by GDS Surcharge
Air France have claimed that those booking through travel management companies, such as Beyond Business Travel, will not incur the surcharge. As long as their agency is booking through the official NDC system and accessing negotiated rates and discounts.
Those booking directly with the airline, through their own website, will not pay extra either.
The airline group says it is implementing the charge “in order to adapt to market circumstances and to further improve its efficiency”.
Other Airlines
Lufthansa made the same move earlier in 2017, claiming that the cost of issuing tickets via the GDSs are “several times higher” than other booking channels.
British Airways and Iberia announced that they would introduce the new fee in November of this year.
For more information or details, please contact our expert business travel team.