TNW pick of the week: Ancillary fees, coming soon to a GDS near you

By Rachael Penaluna

TRAVEL agents will soon be able to purchase their clients’ airline ancillaries through their GDS.

Both Amadeus and Travelport have confirmed that the companies have recently renewed their full-content deals with various airlines, which will include the distribution of ancillary fees.  

Jackie Allder of the marketing communications offices at ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing Company), explains that the first step is the development of Optional Services. “This allows and enables airlines to file their ancillary product description and fee information to ATPCO. We then distribute that information to GDSs so that agents will have access to that information.”

The second part of the process is with regard to Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMDs). Iata’s broad target is for a total of 40 EMD-capable airlines to be on board by the end of the year and for EMDs to have 100% industry capability by the end of 2012. EMDs will create a paperless environment and enable travel agents to collect and account for ancillary products and services via their GDSs.

Iata’s website advises that the association is currently holding online workshops to familiarise the trade with EMD usage and that the product is ready to implement.

Meanwhile, Travelport is beta testing its own solution and says that the use of EMDs will become invaluable once the majority of airlines make their ancillary products and services available for sale to TMCs via the GDS.

Refer to TNW October 12 for more on this story.