Global business travel payment solution company, AirPlus, has issued its response to the current controversy concerning global distribution system (GDS) opt-in charges introduced by British Airways (BA).
Following BA”s deals with GDS giants Worldspan, Sabre and Galileo, the airline is levying a 50p or ”1 ($1 or $2) charge for each booking made through those GDS providers. Travel management companies (TMCs) then have the option of either absorbing the extra costs, or passing them on to their clients.
TMC response to the charges has been mixed, with companies such as CarlsonWagonlit and American Express deciding to pass the costs to clients whilst HRG has chosen to absorb them.
To provide maximum clarity on the issue, AirPlus will show any opt-in charges that are passed onto the client via their AirPlus invoice. ”The first thing we did when we heard about the GDS opt-in fees, was to check the data we receive from our partner travel agencies and how it would display on our clients” invoices,” said AirPlus managing director, Yael Klein.
”The fees show up as small single transactions with the related ticket number and all other additional data such as project number and cost centre that the client requested for their invoice. Thus the GDS fees can be linked to the correct ticket purchase, which gives the client total transparency for their travel spend.”
AirPlus remains neutral on the additional charges and whether or not they should be passed onto clients. ”We do not condone or condemn the passing on of GDS opt-in fees to clients at all,” said Klein. ”This decision is up to the TMCs.”