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Posted Dec 11, 2009
Mr. Petri Schaaf
Vice President, Global Sales
Finnair, Plc
Dear Mr. Schaaf,
We read with great interest your comments in Business Travel News regarding credit card surcharges. In particular, your airline is contemplating surcharging for payments made through Finnair’s merchant agreement, an equitable, time-tested and efficient process for airlines and their customers. These credit card costs are already baked into the price of tickets purchased by corporate buyers of your airline’s services. As such, surcharging will be asking your very best customers to pay for this cost twice. This, of course, is unacceptable.
Posted Nov 9, 2009
For years airlines have made statements that the merchant fees that they pay when they accept cards as a form of payment were ‘next on the list’ of distribution costs that would be in focus. And more recently we are beginning to see evidence that this is true with examples such as United Airlines' reported change of policy when it comes to [some] travel management companies' use of their merchant agreement and KLM’s announcement of a credit card surcharge of EUR 7.50 being debated.
Posted Jul 21, 2009
Here are some comments by UAL Corp. executives, from their second-quarter financial conference call this afternoon, about distribution and risk ...
Posted Jul 21, 2009
The only thing that surprises me about all this is that anybody is surprised. This has been a nailed-on certainty for the past few years and ties in neatly with other significant costs which many airlines have passed on via their intermediaries. In fact, this is the greatest value agents give airlines at the moment--the ability to transfer cost indirectly. Except, finally, they have gone for a big one that is visibly less stealthy than the others!
Posted Jul 20, 2009
The now big political spat over credit card fees that UAL want the agents to shoulder has everyone weighing in.
As Richard Eastman noted many weeks ago this has significant potential implications. However, as I have noted, this is not something for everyone to get their noses bent out of shape on. We do have many other issues that are perhaps more important.
Posted Jul 18, 2009
Here's the full text of United's response to members of Congress, dated July 17 and signed by senior vice president of worldwide sales and distribution Jeff Foland ...
Posted Jul 18, 2009
I have emailed a United spokeswoman to confirm but according to a tweet by American Society of Travel Agents CEO Bill Maloney, United Airlines "told Congress last night that they would delay 60 days, as requested, shifting merchant fees on credit card to agents and consumers." More than a dozen members of Congress including two senators had requested that United delay the new policy for 60 days beyond its effective date of July 20. "United Blinks!" Maloney wrote.
Posted Jul 16, 2009
Ok, I've been silent on this issue, but it is time to speak out of my mind! I think someone equated this to Mistletoe Berry* farmers or something. I'm trying to seriously figure this out in my mind. Here are some random thoughts (no offense intended ice cream parlor owners, agency owners or stock analysts):
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