Lufthansa booking fee has backfired, says GBTA
Lufthansa is losing business from travel buyers since it launched a €16 per booking surcharge on tickets purchased via GDSs, according to a recent global survey.
It found that 42 per cent of travel buyers questioned had decreased their bookings with the carrier since it introduced the charge on September 1.
The survey by the US-based Global Business Travel Association with its European partners found that 93% of those surveyed were not considering booking direct with Lufthansa to avoid the fee.
Instead, 39% were seeking alternative carriers.
"We believe that the booking surcharge strategy has effectively backfired," said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. "The resulting actions demonstrate the high value that travel buyers place in the existing distribution network. The efforts by Lufthansa to fragment the distribution system by artificially adding cost is not working."
GBTA’s survey of global travel buyers was conducted online between October 14 and 19. In total 434 travel buyers representing an estimated $44 billion in global buying power participated in the survey.
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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