In fact, Lufthansa hasn't paid brokerage commissions to travel agencies for many years. But now “generous bonuses” are being offered for tickets that will be flown in August and September 2022. The agencies can expect a fee of just one euro per ticket.

The approach taken by Germany's largest airline caused a shake of the head among the travel agency associations. In the cover letter signed by Key Account Manager Rosamunde Rubino, the company wrote: "Since we are well aware of the extra work that weighs on you, you have created a special summer incentive to recognize your work performance". Therefore, they want to incentivize the extra work for all Europe single tickets, which are still in August and September 2022 with a bonus of one euro.

The low amount of the remuneration is seen by several associations as sheer mockery, because the agencies would incur considerable additional work through constant cuts made by Lufthansa. If only individual segments are affected by cancellations, these can often not be changed by the agencies via GDS or comparable platforms, but only via a special hotline. However, the additional workload will not be compensated by Lufthansa.

While the cover letter to the travel agency clearly states that the additional expense is to be compensated for with the one euro that is given per ticket, the media office of the Kranich Group denies this. A spokeswoman explained, among other things, that the current program should not be related to the additional effort. She emphasized: "Due to the high number of flight segments sold, there are significant payouts due to the quantity sold despite a small bonus".

But it is precisely at this point that the operators of travel agencies have come up with fierce criticism. They criticize that Lufthansa would impressively demonstrate that it is not able to carry out stable and reliable flight operations. Reference is also made to the statements of senior managers who assume that there will not be any real relaxation before the 2022/23 winter flight schedule. Some owners find it problematic that selling additional tickets is also rewarded, even if it is only one euro. If there were cancellations and delays again due to a lack of staff, the annoyance and extra work would get stuck in the travel agency and Lufthansa would reward this with just one euro.

The Lufthansa Group has not paid real commissions for many years. Travel agencies have to buy the flight tickets at the current tariff and then add a booking fee. The amount of this can vary greatly from location to location. In addition, the Kranich Group charges a surcharge for bookings made via GDS systems, which are typically used by travel agencies. This does not apply if the agency uses Lufthansa's own platform.