ASTA is mad at Delta. The association on Wednesday accused the carrier of "forcibly" collecting travel agency funds for "booking violations that were, in some cases, likely caused by technical issues related to Delta's audit program, rather than by agency malfeasance." [more] As
Delta detailed in June 2008, booking violations relate to inactive segments; passives segments; duplicate, fraudulent, fictitious or speculative bookings; invalid name changes; and "churning."
ASTA previously had complained about ARC Payment Express--an "automatic collection of carrier fees and charges"--that Delta had been using. ARC discontinued Payment Express last fall (after hearing "ongoing feedback from travel agent customers"). This week, ASTA criticized Delta for its "grossly disproportionate" penalties and "automated schedule change system" that "has created booking violations that were beyond the agent's control." Read
ASTA's full statement here.