Lufthansa Group is adding a surcharge of €16 for every ticket issued by a booking channel using GDS.
The new Distribution Cost Charge (DCC) will not be added if tickets for Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss are purchased through one of the company’s own channels such as Lufthansa.com.
The group said corporate customers will be able to book their individually negotiated rates excluding the charge but again only by going direct through one of the airline’s channels.
The same applies for travel agencies which can avoid the charge by booking through Lufthansa Group’s online portal.
The charge is expected to come into force this September.
The announcement comes as Lufthansa Group attempts to increase its profitability by “redirecting their commercial strategy”. It expects to generate an adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of more than €1.5 billion before costs.
Jens Bischof, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board and chief commercial officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: “Until now, the percentage of revenue generated from the sale of flight tickets by our airlines has continuously decreased.
“While other service and system partners in the value chain are recording increasing margins and returns, our airline’s earnings have been compromised over time, even though they are the actual providers of flight services. We want to counteract this trend by refocusing our commercial strategy.”
Lufthansa said the costs for using GDSs are several times higher than for other booking methods. The company claims that yearly costs come to a three-digit million Euro amount.
The announcement of the GDS fee is accompanied by confirmation that Lufthansa will introduce a new modular fares concept this summer (for flights booked in the autumn) which will see Light, Classic and Flex fares within Europe.
Each fare category comes with its own services and variety of options. It will be extended to all Lufthansa Group carriers although, as we have previously reported, it is already being trialled by Brussels Airlines and Swiss (at Geneva only).
BBT has approached GDS firms and TMCs for comment.
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