AIRLINES are blocking
non-Iata agents from
viewing fares in the
GDS, a move agents view as
discriminating against the
growing ITC market.
Earlier this year, EgyptAir
and Ethiopian Airlines blocked
non-Iata agents from viewing
their fares in the GDS. TAP Air
Portugal said in August that
it had implemented a similar
policy, due to high volumes of
wastage.
Jo Fraser, franchise director
of Club Travel, explained
that airlines had not notified
agents of the fare blocking.
She said in most cases ITCs
had only noticed after losing
out on sales to competing
Iata agents. Jo advised that
Saudi Arabian Airlines had
also implemented the same
policy recently.
“To view these airlines’
fares, ITCs now have to
contact our head office for
assistance with fare quotes
and bookings or to book
the ticket on the airline’s
website directly. This makes
things more difficult for the
ITCs and generally results
in consultants quoting other
airlines instead,” she said.
Jolene Cawthorn, owner of
Skybound Destinations, an
eTravel ITC, agreed saying that
while there were ways to work
around the fare blocking, such
as contacting head office for
assistance, these were far
more time consuming. Jolene
now only quotes the airlines
that have blocked viewing if
they are particularly requested
by clients.
Riaan Goosen, owner and
manager of Club Travel Zoo
Lake, an Iata agent, says his
agency was also blocked by
TAP this month, despite being
an Iata agent. He received a
‘restrictive sale’ notification
when he tried to make a
booking in the GDS.
“The airline did not
even have the courtesy to
notify me that I had been
blocked. When the matter
was highlighted on eTNW I
saw that TAP advised that
non-Iata agents could be
reinstated if they emailed the
airline, so I sent through a
reinstatement request.” The
airline informed Riaan that
he had been blocked due to
excessive spoilage and nonparticipation.
“I find the allegation of
excessive spoilage hard to
believe as we rarely book the
airline. I made an alternative
plan for my client and issued
the ticket through our head
office. Thank heavens they
were able to assist,” he said.
Riaan wondered if this
airline policy could be the
beginning of a new GDS costcutting
trend with airlines.
TAP, EgyptAir and Ethiopian
Airlines had not responded to
TNW regarding their viewing
policy at time of going to
print.
