AF/KL ditch point-of-sale fares

27 Jun 2018

AS of June 4, Air France KLM has

changed its fare offering worldwide

from point-of-sale to point-ofcommencement.

This decision means

that agents will have access to the

same fares for the same flight routes,

regardless of where the booking is

made.

Air France KLM’s change follows on

the heels of Lufthansa’s switch at the

end of last year (TNW February 28

2018). At the time, Dinesh Naidoo,

group operations director of SWG told

TNW that it was likely that other airlines

would follow suit, adding that Lufthansa

has been leading trends in the airline

space.

While not many agency or consortium

heads were keen to comment on the

move, Wally Gaynor, md of Club Travel

Group, told TNW he welcomes the

AF/KL decision, as it increases the

ability of traditional agencies to remain

competitive against OTAs.

“Club Travel originally solved the

problem of airlines operating point-ofsale

by offering consultants access to

our global fares system, where we can

legally circumvent the better overseas

availability issues. However, we still have

issues competing with overseas-based

OTAs who receive better availability from

those airlines that are still operating on

a point-of-sale system.”

David Pegg, md of Sure Viva Travels,

says this move will offer a greater

benefit to smaller travel agencies by

levelling the playing field, allowing

them to remain competitive against big

consortiums and OTAs alike.

“I regularly have requests from people

based in Australia or the UK, who want

me to organise their travel to South

Africa because their South African-based

family members are paying for the

trip,” says Tracy Teichmann, manager

of Sure Adcock’s Travel. “I always have

to advise them to get quotes for the

flights in their country, just in case

these are cheaper. Having access to

the same price fares for Air France

KLM, regardless of where I am based,

will improve my ability to accommodate

these clients.” 