[UPDATE, May 26, 2017: IAG informed industry partners that British Airways and Iberia would add a $10 fee as of Nov. 1, essentially for each one-way trip, on tickets purchased in global distribution systems. The fee will be displayed as a “Q charge” in fare constructions, and included in itinerary fare quotes. Refunds will align with the…
Lufthansa Group last week announced it is processing business travel bookings directly with Germany-based conglomerate Siemens. This week it named carmaker Volkswagen for the same. Lufthansa and Siemens on Aug. 1 began using a Lufthansa-provided connection for bookings on the group’s airlines by Germany-based travelers. Officials said other markets will follow, though specifics are not…
Airline Direct Distribution Sept. 8, 2016 The Company Dime welcomes expert guests including American Airlines managing director for distribution and data commercialization Cory Garner, ARC president and CEO Mike Premo, WestRock corporate travel manager Karen Hatch and World Travel Inc. president Dee Runyan to decode the status quo on airline direct booking in business travel. See the slides…
[UPDATE, June 22, 2017: British Airways began offering branded fares to global distribution systems via the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. Using what BA called “an industry standard distribution method,” the functionality took effect for Travelport and Amadeus in early May and for Sabre on June 1. The airline told travel agencies that its aim is…
A Lufthansa executive this month reportedly named American Express Global Business Travel and BCD Travel as potential partners for the airline’s direct-booking initiative. However, the travel management companies don’t sound interested. According to an Amex executive, Lufthansa’s proposed alternative would end up costing more than the airline’s 16 euro surcharge for traditional distribution. A BCD Travel…
As they work for advantage, clients, suppliers and those in between keep business travel management interesting. Changes to underlying and consumer-facing technology make it a dynamic business function. The personal and geopolitical elements of business travel offer points of note from the micro to macro levels. As one of our featured practitioners noted, this job is about economics, geography, psychology and then some….
As Lufthansa’s 16 euro fee for booking through global distribution channels apparently takes effect, some will seek a “loophole” by using partner codes. However, doing so can cause problems that call into question what the airline industry calls metal neutrality. Code shares within an airline joint venture provide many more travel options than a single carrier can with its own…
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