EasyJet has vowed not to back down over 12 euro fees on tickets booked through global distribution systems Amadeus and Travelport.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies, representing the UK’s business travel giants, last week threatened to boycott the no-frills airline unless there is a reduction in the 12 euro fee for a return booking.
Speaking at an Eye for Travel technology distribution conference, easyJet’s distribution development manager Jerry Dunn defended the airline’s decision to implement a point of sale fee.
“We could have hidden the charge in the fare, but we like to be open and transparent. We don’t want to increase our own costs so it has to be borne by the customer. We are also protecting easyjet.com as the cheapest place to book flights.”
EasyJet is working with Sabre to strike up a deal, but its users would face the same point of sale fee, he added.
Meanwhile, the airline will be taking action against screen scraping by third parties.
“We do not permit screen scraping because of customer service issues and loss of ancilliary revenue. We will be implementing legal and technical controls.”