Carlson Wagonlit Travel joined other leading travel management companies (TMCs) in announcing a distribution deal with British Airways and Iberia this week.
The agreement with the IAG-owned carriers will enable Carlson Wagonlit (CWT) clients to avoid the €9.50 (£8) surcharge on GDS bookings that BA and Iberia will introduce from November 1.
In a statement, CWT confirmed its customers would “avoid the airlines’ proposed surcharge on bookings created within participating global distribution systems that agree to these terms with IAG”. So far only Amadeus has agreed terms with IAG.
However, CWT also confirmed the surcharge on most GDS bookings of BA and Iberia flights is likely to be double this amount – €19 (£16 or $20).
The company noted the airlines will “add a US$10 ‘distribution technology charge’ on each airline fare component of a booking, effective 1 November 2017.
“A fare component is a portion of a journey or itinerary between two consecutive fare breaks. A round trip ticket typically contains two fare components and therefore would have a surcharge of US$20.”
The agreement follows similar deals with BA and Iberia by leading TMCs HRG and American Express Global Business Travel.
BA and Iberia have also announced deals with some leisure agencies including Flight Centre Travel Group.
CWT said it “continues to work with all key parties to provide further surcharge-free BA and Iberia content for its customers”.
Brian Mogler, CWT senior vice president and head of global supplier management, said: “This agreement highlights our mutual commitment to the concept of new distribution capabilities (NDC) to drive improved product differentiation.”
He said: “While we believe GDSs provide the best technology platform available for CWT to enable best-in-market user experience and operating efficiency, we will continue to monitor and assess new technologies and capabilities.”
BA head of distribution Ian Luck said: “We’re delighted with this new agreement. We’re particularly pleased with the strong undertaking CWT has made to work collaboratively with us, GDSs and other technology partners in delivering NDC content.”
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