A few years ago the Lufthansa Group introduced a surcharge for bookings made via GDS systems. Now this is being raised from 16 euros to 19 euros, reports the industry magazine VWF.

The group members Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti are affected. The so-called "Distribution Cost Charge" will be 1 euros from October 2020, 19. The group justifies the surcharge with higher costs that arise through this sales channel. GDS systems are primarily used by travel agencies, but also by company travel agencies. Well-known providers for this are Saber, Galileo and Amadeus.

There are no changes for the use of the so-called NDC channels and the LH Group Agent platform. Lufthansa has been pushing for travel agencies to use these as an alternative to GDS systems for at least five years. End customers are also not charged the GDS fee when purchasing tickets via the Lufthansa and subsidiary websites.