Air France-KLM mulls levy following Lufthansa’s ticket charge move

MIAMI: Air France-KLM is considering following a move by Lufthansa to levy a charge on tickets booked via third parties as a way of increasing its per-ticket earnings, the airline’s chief executive said on Monday.

Lufthansa said last week it was implementing a €16 (Dh65.6) surcharge for tickets booked via third-parties on global distribution systems (GDS), a decision that prompted ire from providers such as Amadeus and Sabre plus travel agents, which will now have to use a different system to avoid the charge.

The Lufthansa move means it will be cheaper for customers to book tickets via its own website, rather than via price comparison sites.

“It’s a key issue, an absolutely key issue for us. We are evaluating the option,” Alexandre de Juniac told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “The majority of our revenues comes from the GDS.” Lufthansa has said that two-thirds of its flights are booked via GDS. De Juniac declined to specify further which percentage of its ticket sales came via the systems.