Amadeus has launched the first component of a new software application that it has designed to help airlines track a la carte service fees across multiple sales channels.
The Airline Service Fees program, in its first phase, will automatically price and collect ticket, credit card and other fees in an airline's direct sales channel, i.e., its ticket offices in cities and airports, call centers and websites.
A second module, scheduled for launch later, will enable airlines to collect credit card fees through indirect channels, i.e., travel agencies.
Automating collection of fees for checked baggage or other services for which airlines have recently begun to charge will reduce costs and recapture unreimbursed expenses for airlines, improve transparency of fee collections and improve airline fee management, Amadeus said.
"When travel agencies do not have specific contracts with credit card companies, then the credit card charges are paid by the validating carrier," said Christian Munson of Amadeus. "Airline Service Fees will enable airlines to recover these costs by collecting credit card fees on tickets issued by travel agencies."
The move is the first of its type in automating the a la carte fees that are being imposed by airlines in the wake of the rapid rise in fuel prices. Cost recovery has become an important process of late, but Munson said the development of fee-capturing mechanisms predated the most recent run-up of ancillary service fees.
"Today, airlines' fee processing varies from manual to partially automated to third-party ... or in-house solutions, which has an impact on the efficient collection of fees and limits reactivity and diversification," Munson said. He added that there was a "need to provide airlines with solutions that facilitate and secure the collection of fees, and enable them to diversify the type of fees applied, tools that enable them to efficiently collect fees in their direct channels as well as indirect channels ... in a seamless manner."
Handling of fees for services like meals or airline lounge access will come at a later date, the company said. The Airport Service Fees program will apply initially to ticket-based fees, credit card fees and special request fees and will offer the ability for airlines to add new special request fees as needed.