Amadeus and BA fail to meet deadline over distribution deal
Amadeus has agreed to pay compensation to agents after failing to reach a distribution agreement with British Airways.
It is the only global distribution system not to have signed a deal with the airline. New deals with Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan are due to kick in from today.
In a letter sent to its agency partners, Amadeus UK and Ireland managing director Stephane Durand said: “It is still very much our desire to reach agreement with British Airways and to this end we have presented a number of competitive proposals.”
He then outlined a compensation package in the event that no agreement was reached.
“To protect your business from discriminatory actions imposed by British Airways, Amadeus will reimburse in full the £3 per segment surcharge incurred by your agency during the period April 10 to May 1, when the situation will be reviewed.
“Please contact your Amadeus account manager for more details of invoicing and payment of the surcharge. I hope that this presents a satisfactory solution for you during this uncertain time.”
A spokesman for Amadeus said it could not put a time scale on when the agreement is likely to be reached.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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