More agents to bypass GDS surcharge

TRAVELPORT has concluded
an agreement with British
Airways and Iberia that
enables TMCs and agencies
with private channel deals
with these airlines to bypass
the £8 (R150) per sector GDS
surcharge implemented on
November 1.
Agencies will only be able
to bypass the surcharge if
they have entered into an
agreement with the airlines.
A similar deal, which was
announced last month, saw
Flight Centre Travel Group,
Amex and HRG exempted
from the surcharge when
booking BA and Iberia on
Amadeus. Last month Sabre
also announced that its deal
with BA and Iberia would allow
agents to negotiate “content
commitments” with the
airlines, adding that agencies
that did not, would be subject
to the surcharge.
The deals come as GDSs
ramp up their NDC connectivity
and TNW understands
that agencies entering into
agreements with the airlines
gain access to the airlines’
surcharge-free content.
Robyn Christie, country
manager of Travelport South
Africa, says Travelport is
working to develop NDC
connections and is on track
to achieve Iata Level 3 status
in coming weeks. “We are
confident that the evolving
technology and commercial
changes in airline distribution
strengthen the value of our
travel commerce platform as
a dynamic aggregator working
at unprecedented scale and
speed, and with unmatched
reliability and cost.