Travel buyer group the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) has blasted British Airways (BA) for not consulting its members before announcing a new credit card fee.
And the not-for-profit organisation warned that the announcement was “a marker in the sand” that may encourage other carriers to follow suit.
As ABTN reported yesterday, from March 1 BA will introduce a £4.50 levy on all bookings made with a credit card through intermediaries, such as travel agents and travel management companies.
The airline said it was to bring GDS (global distribution system – a platform used by travel agents to book airline tickets) bookings into line with its other distribution channels, such as BA.com where the fee is already levied on all ticket.
After a hastily arranged meeting yesterday afternoon, Mark Cushieri, ITM’s chair of industry affairs, said the group understood that airlines had to find more sustainable models, and that reducing distribution costs was part of the process.
But he said buyers had to consider more than just the cost implications: “Of primary concern to us is the presentation of fare data before and after booking. We need to understand what impact product changes will have on this data.”
“I also think airlines will find that savings they make by off-loading costs to the buyer could well be reflected in contract negotiations later on, a process that is surely not healthy for the industry.”
ITM said it was “becoming increasingly disappointed” by the level of consultation that airlines and other suppliers had with the buyers across the globe.
It cited a recent ITM study in which 98% of its members said airlines needed to work closer with the buyer community.
ITM chief executive Paul Tilstone said: “There’s no question there could have been better consultation with buyer groups on this a long-time before an announcement was made.
“ITM understands the pressure on carriers today and limitations on discussing price variances, but a figure of 98% of buyers looking for better engagement has surely to be a wake-up call to airlines that there’s a better way to tackle their issues of cost.
“There are a lot of buyers quite angry about the weekly announcements of cost increase that keep falling out of airlines press offices.”
Tilstone said ITM would be consulting members next week about the credit card charge, and said it would be calling on BA to discuss its proposals with buyers.
ITM said it would also be discussing American Airlines recent decision to introduce a surcharge on bookings made through the Travelport GDSs (Galileo and Worldspan), though the airline cannot proceed with the charge until it has resolved legal proceeding with Travelport in the US.
Tim Giles, director of business travel at agency consortium Worldchoice, said he became aware of the proposed BA credit card charge about a week ago.
He said all his TMC members were planning to add the surcharge onto the ticket and pass on the cost to the customer.
“It’s the typical minefield that will be dealt with differently throughout the industry.
“The big concern is: will other airlines follow suit?”