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BA’s £8 GDS fee starts next week


Ian Taylor ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk


British Airways fares booked through a GDS will carry an £8 surcharge on “each fare component” from next week, meaning a £16 fee on even a simple return fare.


BA and sister carrier Iberia


are sticking to their November 1 deadline for introducing the ‘distribution technology charge’ despite failing to have made ready a portal presented as an alternative distribution channel. When BA announced the charge


in May, it insisted it would apply “to any bookings not made using an NDC-based connection or through our websites, airline sales offices and call centres”. NDC is airline association Iata’s ‘New Distribution Capability’ standard, aimed at enabling airlines to retail through indirect channels in the same way as direct. Yet in a series of agreements


with leading travel management companies and some leisure agencies in recent weeks, BA has waived the fee for businesses agreeing “to work collaboratively


BA’s GDS fee will amount to £16 for a simple return flight


with us in delivering NDC content” or willing “to make the technical connections required for NDC”. Announcing a deal with American Express Global Business Travel, BA global head of sales Stephen Humphreys conceded BA agreed for “bookings to be made through existing platforms without any charge”. However, Amadeus is the only


GDS involved in the agreements. Bookings through Travelport and Sabre will attract the charge unless there are last-minute deals. The fee will appear as part of the total fare, identified as a Q charge. Agents can avoid the fee on


certain flights by booking via BA or Iberia partners, such as a US flight through American Airlines. BA claims GDSs “carry signifi-


cantly greater costs” than direct bookings and the fee covers these. However, a detailed study of distribution costs published this week suggests otherwise. It con- cludes carriers omit “unavoidable costs” of direct distribution when making comparisons to third-party costs, with the underlying aim of “curtailing consumer access to


independent booking channels”. › Business, back page


3


Thomson stores have been rebranded. Inset: Smile chair


STORIES HOT


Tui smile chair is ‘future of travel’


Ben Ireland and Juliet Dennis


Tui believes new futuristic facial recognition technology will attract more customers into its rebranded stores.


The Destination U chair –


pictured on this week’s front cover – was billed as the “future of travel” and a “world first” for the industry when it was unveiled at Tui’s official rebrand last week. The chair works by showing


a customer a sequence of holiday images. Cameras read a customer’s facial expressions and measure their emotions before recommending an ideal holiday. A prototype is being rolled


out at a handful of Tui agencies nationwide and more are planned. UK managing director Nick Longman admitted the chair was “not going to be in every shop” but said: “It is our ambition to create holidays so personalised they ‘choose you’.”


Longman said the technology


would encourage more customers into Tui’s stores. He added: “After a customer has received their results, the agent can sit down with


“The chair is not replacing agents. I can see people having a lot of fun with it”


them and see if that’s something they want and help them find a holiday based on the inspiration they’ve been given. It’s not replacing agents. I can see a lot of people having a lot of fun with it.” The move comes as independent


agents say the disappearance of Thomson, one of the UK’s best-known leisure travel brands, from the high street would make little difference to their businesses. Advantage Travel Partnership head of commercial John Sullivan said: “People who booked Thomson will continue to book Tui. It’s still the same shop in the same place with the same people.” But Miles Morgan, managing


director of Miles Morgan Travel, said Tui’s advertising campaign failed to make the most of what the Tui rebrand represents in terms of product, customer service and reliability. “It’s a lost opportunity


to sell more product,” he said. › Special Report, page 12


26 October 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 5


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