UAE agents reject American Airlines charges

The Abu Dhabi Travel and Tourism Agencies Council (ATTAC) said it has rejected the extra charges imposed by American Airlines for bookings made through Travelport GDS Galileo.

 In the UAE, American Airlines wants to levy a charge of US$8.50 per booking on the GDS for what it calls a 'Booking Source Premium'  in a bid to drive bookings through it own online system Direct Connect. The charges were imposed from February 1.

But Hani Khorsheed, secretary general of the Abu Dhabi Travel and Tourism Agencies Council (ATTAC) said the American Airlines plan “didn’t work”.

“So far this system has not been accepted and we are not paying. We went to Galileo, and we told them: this has to be solved. We don’t want this to be implemented in Abu Dhabi, as simple as that. So agents are still booking and they are not paying [the charges].”

Khorsheed said that while he could “understand the point of view of the airlines” in seeking to cut their distribution costs, he “did not agree with it”.

“American Airlines has considered their internal travel here more than the international. The airlines have created the travel agents, because they need us as distribution centers – there is not single airline in the world that can survive without the travel agents.”