Lufthansa Denies Report that Bookings Dipped Since GDS Fee

While airline bookings made in Sabre within Europe were up 1.4% in the first two weeks of September, bookings for the Lufthansa Group (LHG) were down 16.1%, according to a “highly confidential” document Tnooz reported that it obtained from a “third party.”

On Sept. 1, the group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels, and Swiss airlines, implemented a €16 fee on all bookings made through GDSs. Travel agents and their associations were up in arms and seemed to be making good on their promise to book other carriers whenever possible.

Bookings made on other carriers were up 4.3%.

It appeared that the damage to LHG might be increasing as time goes on: In the first week of September, its Sabre bookings were down 12.9%, Tnooz reported; in the second week, they were down 19.2%.

Some of that business likely was diverted to LHG’s agent and consumer websites, which the group has touted as alternatives.

But agents have not been enthusiastic about the sites, which provide none of the travel management and back-office support they enjoy in the GDSs.

Ironically, one airline that appears to be benefiting from LHG’s decreases is code-share partner United, whose Sabre bookings made in Europe were up 2.5% in the first week and soared 24.1% in the second.

Bookings of flights operated by Lufthansa but marketed by code-share partners do not incur the GDS fee.

Meanwhile, Sabre bookings on archrival Air France were up 5.1% in the first week and 17.3% in the second.

Lufthansa Responds
Claudia Lange, Head of Corporate Communications, The Americas, for Lufthansa Group, said the numbers in the Tnooz report should be viewed in light of the pilots’ strike that hit the carrier days after the surcharge went into effect.

“Currently there is no significant change of the overall booking situation within the Lufthansa Group. We are in line with the statements and forecasts given regarding the booking figures,” she said.

“If there have been non-official sales figures by a single GDS in the media, it is highly unprofessional to project them to describe the overall booking situation of LHG, even if you focus on all GDS sales. We certainly will give the public detailed and reliable sales figures within our regular financial reporting.”