BA to charge agents for economy bookings
British Airways is to introduce a £4.50 booking fee for economy tickets purchased by credit card through travel agents from next March.
The fee, which will apply to GDS bookings, will be per passenger, not per transaction. It will not apply to premium classes, First, Club or premium economy.
BA already charges a fee for credit card payments on bookings made direct through BA.com, so this will align the payment fee charges across both booking channels.
The airline said it had wanted to introduce a fee for GDS bookings for a long time as it had been absorbing the fees charged by credit card companies, but GDSs had only recently developed a facility to allow airlines to pass the charges on.
There will be no fee for debit card payments.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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