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Lufthansa reveals aim to ‘break up’ GDS grip on distribution as it stands by €16 fee Birlenbach said: “It does not mean we are going to
take over agency tasks, but we would like to challenge the GDSs. We don’t see enough technological developments. We don’t get enough value for money. We calculated the difference between direct and GDS distribution and €16 is the average. “If the difference changes because pricing changes, the DCC could change. But that is the amount now.” Birlenbach acknowledged: “Some [companies]
have said they will boycott [Lufthansa]. We know the risk involved. It’s not a gamble. The DCC gives us leeway to enforce change.” She told Advantage members: “You need to rethink
Ian Taylor in Frankfurt
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travelweekly.co.uk — 2 July 2015
Lufthansa intends to “break up” GDS distribution and won’t retreat on plans to impose a €16 fee on GDS bookings. Heike Birlenbach, Lufthansa vice-president for sales and services in Europe, told the Advantage Focus Champions conference in Frankfurt on Monday: “This is not a negotiating tactic. Sometimes disruptive change is necessary. There are many airlines and thousands of points of sale, but only three GDSs. We would like to break that up.” Lufthansa announced in June it will add a €16 Distribution Cost Charge (DCC) to Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines GDS bookings from September 1.
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your business model in terms of the [financial] returns from the GDS.” Advantage Travel Partnership corporate director Ken McLeod said the move was “a defining moment
“We know the risks. Sometimes disruptive change is necessary”
for travel”. “It’s a huge gamble by Lufthansa,” he added. “Lufthansa wants to change the market. “There are payments going from GDSs to agencies.
We’re not absolved of fault. Is it right you get paid for using technology or switching from one supplier to another? GDSs will have to give up something. Airlines will have to give up something.” ❯ Letters, page 28
MPs urge action on commission’s advice Lee Hayhurst
“The secretary of state will make clear the
The Airports Commission’s long-awaited recommendation for new capacity in the southeast was due on Wednesday, the day after a new report set out aviation’s value to the UK. The report, outlining the “vital
role” aviation and tourism plays, was compiled by Abta, the Airport Operators Association (AOA), the Tourism Alliance and UKinbound. It was unveiled in Parliament on
Tuesday after an AOA survey found 74% of MPs want the government to act immediately on the Airports Commission’s recommendations. Last week at Abta’s Travel Matters conference, Robert Goodwill MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport, stopped short of making such a commitment.
timetable for a response,” he said. “But we need to get on with this. The can has been kicked along the road for far too long. There are a lot of considerations: infrastructure and environmental, and of course political issues. We do not live in China; we need to take account of people’s views.” MPs at Travel Matters, including the newly elected former Google Travel head Nigel Huddleston, agreed a decision must be made quickly. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “A healthy tourism industry relies on a healthy aviation industry and vice versa.
We have identified key policies that will allow both industries to maximise their growing potential, increasing capacity and generating jobs.” ❯ Abta Travel Matters, pages 78-80
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Heike Birlenbach
“We don’t live in China;
we need to take account of people’s views”
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