Direct sales policy - " direct connect "adopted in September 2015 by the Lufthansa is being emulated. The company Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has decided to adopt the same model, unveiling on 14 April the introduction of a new tax on bookings made via an online booking service. GDS (Global Distribution Systems).
constant increase in GDS costs
" Following theconstant increase in GDS costs (Global Distribution Systems), UIA now applies GDS charges for all bookings made. since 13 April 2017" said the Ukrainian company in a press release. The statement added: " These GDS fees are 9USD per segment They apply to all markets and appear automatically in the pricing. They are materialised by means of a YQ fee. All bookings created before the introduction of these fees (12 April 2017 inclusive) can be issued with the fare, taxes and fees announced on the date the file was created until 19 April 2017." .
GDS too greedy?
Lufthansa had already caused controversy by introducing an equivalent, albeit more costly, system: the tax introduced in 2015 by the German group reaches 16 euros. At the time, Lufthansa, like UIA today, condemned the charges imposed by the GDSs: ". The costs of using GDSs are several times higher than for other booking methods, such as our own online portal. In total, annual GDS costs reach several hundred million euros for the Lufthansa Group" .
Some professionals - particularly business travel agenciesAt the time, it was feared that the GDS tax would be applied across the board. " For CWT, it is impossible for a viable solution to avoid paying the €16 distribution fee without at the same time increasing costs to maintain the current level of service and value to customers. "TMC deplored the situation, reiterating that ". the GDS remains the most efficient distribution solutionthe most comprehensive and cost-effective solution for the business travel industry" . However, it took almost two years for another carrier to tackle the fares charged by reservation systems. It remains to be seen whether other airlines will join Lufthansa and UIA in their efforts.
