Lufthansa Plans GDS Surcharge In Four Countries

Lufthansa this week announced plans to impose what amounts to a €4.90 per-way surcharge plus value added tax on fares booked through global distribution systems in Germany and Austria beginning July 1 and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein beginning Oct. 1.

The airline stunned the German travel trade with the announcement yesterday, as there had been no consultation with travel agencies, corporate buyers or even with the GDS companies.

The airline said that all its fares will increase by €15 per-way on July 1. However, the existing pre-increase fares will continue to be made available as so-called Preferred Fares, which carry the surcharge if booked through a GDS, but not if they are booked through direct channels. At the same time, Lufthansa will stop publishing Web-only fares.

Initial reaction has been hostile. "Germany buyers see this as an additional cost," said one source from the Germany travel management community, while Amadeus has been unusually unequivocal in its condemnation of its part-owner airline. "This decision was made unilaterally by Lufthansa without any prior consultation with Amadeus," Amadeus, the GDS market leader in Germany, said in a statement, which continued to say the surcharge "exceeds Amadeus' average booking fee for Lufthansa flights out of Germany."

"Introducing the Preferred Fare program will improve our efficiency and lower our distribution costs," said Thierry Antinori, Lufthansa executive vice president for marketing and sales. "We remain convinced of the added value and technical efficiency of GDSs for our sales and distribution, but the commercial models of this system have changed and we must find ways to make sales via GDSs more cost-effective in the future too."

A spokesman for VDR, the German travel managers' association said, "We were taken by surprise by this measure. We are still evaluating the situation."