AIRLINES are getting
tougher on what they call
GDS abuse, although
often the root cause is
demanding clients who want
flight options.
Dinesh Naidoo, group
operations director of SWG,
says airlines have started
misusing the ADM process,
charging phenomenal amounts
in ADMs for GDS abuse. “As
soon as a consultant forgets
to cancel a segment in the
GDS, we are being billed huge
amounts in ADMs.” He says
ADMs for ‘abuse’ or ‘wastage’
can run into hundreds of
thousands of rands across an
agency. Airlines issue these
ADMs every three months, so
when they come, it can be a
hefty penalty.
Inge Beadle, co-owner of
corporate Travel Services,
says right now agents are
sideswiped by airlines willynilly.
“I do understand that
they incur charges for every
segment booked in the GDS
system, but eventually they
will get the sale. So, I find
those actions shortsighted
and self-defeating.”
Agentivity, a travel data
management tool, has picked
up instances of duplicate
or even multiple bookings
on the GDS for the same
passenger, says co-founder,
Riaan van Schoor. Agents
sometimes open multiple
segments if they are unsure
of their client’s date of travel.
Agentivity picks up on this
data on the GDS and can
warn its clients that they will
be issued with ADMs if they
don’t cancel the segments in
time.
Riaan says airlines have
been clamping down on this
sort of wastage and some
even have automated tools
that trace wastage by agents.
“Airlines have invested in
detecting GDS abuse more
efficiently and hence there is
definitely an increase in ADMs
that we have seen in the last
couple of years.”
The increase could be
because airlines that didn’t
issue ADMs in the past for
wastage have started doing
so, says Vanya Lessing, Sure
Travel ceo.
RwandAir is the latest airline
to charge for GDS abuse and
has charged a US$5 (R66)
flat fee since July 1. However,
RwandAir is not the only
airline; other airlines, including
Emirates, have increased the
number of GDS abuse ADMs,
according to travel agents.
Fouad Caunhye, Emirates
regional manager for Southern
Africa, says the carrier has
seen an increase in ADMs
related to GDS wastage.
“Although we’re more than
happy to pay the GDS for
productive bookings, for every
segment that is booked but
not ticketed, airlines are
paying the GDS hefty fees
of between $10 and $12
(R132-R159) per segment.”
A long-haul flight through the
hub in Dubai counts generally
four segments per passenger,
amounting to $40 (R530) on
one PNR. “The airline can’t
keep shouldering these fees,
which amount to tens of
thousands of dollars of lost
revenue each month,” says
Fouad. “GDS costs are now
the fastest rising cost airlines
have to face, and their second
highest variable cost after
fuel.”
He says the main reason for
the increase in GDS wastage
ADMs is because there has
been an increase in South
Africa of younger staff who
have not had much exposure
to training.
Both Vanya and Asata ceo,
Otto de Vries, believe that
ADMs for wastage can be
avoided. Otto says while
some may say the issuing
of ADMs for abuse is merely
airlines trying to increase
their revenue, others would
argue that agents are
just trying to best serve
their clients. The truth is
somewhere in between.
“A travel agent has a very
difficult job to do because
they make commitments
to their customers with
regard to booking,” says
Otto. He explains that they
try to hold reservations
for their clients pending
approvals, especially in the
TMC space. He says if these
processes exceed the time
limit allowed for the agent
to hold a reservation, the
customer can get angry with
the agent. “So what often
happens is, as that time
limit appears on the GDS
and they haven’t heard back
from the client, they are
rebooking it.” He says this
is called churning, a form of
GDS ‘abuse’.
Vanya suggests that
consultants need to be
aware that GDS wastage
results in a cost to the
airlines, who may choose to
issue an ADM or penalise a
group against overrides.
