GBTA Europe said Lufthansa's decision to apply credit card surcharges "will add further confusion and damage relations with buyers

because of increased cost and reduced transparency." According to GBTA Europe advocacy group chairman Hans-Ingo Biehl, "Our primary concern is whether these charges are only presented at the end of the booking when by rights it should be at the fare comparison stage at the beginning of the booking process. We also think it very critical that these changes may have implications to contracts in the middle of existing contractual periods." GBTA Europe's German partner VDR this month stated that it was "more than astonished" by Lufthansa's move. The new airline fees—which won't apply to users of the new AirPlus debit account option—will be applied from Sept. 5 in Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and from Nov. 2 in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. The fees range up to €8, depending on market and length of haul.