The widespread popularity of price comparison websites, like Expedia, Priceline and Kayak, has made a dent in airlines’ bottom lines. Consumers like to know what flying and pricing options are available to them as part of their trip planning. You don’t always get that information by going directly to an airline’s website. For example, if you are loyal to American Airlines and book on their website, you might miss a sale Alaska Airlines has to offer you that might make a short connection worth your time. For every flight you book on a discount comparison site, the airlines pay a very small commission to that site, but it adds up with millions of transactions a year.
In an effort to guide you to their homepage, Lufthansa has introduced a 16 euro fee for bookings via global distribution companies, like Expedia, a move highly criticized by many. Lufthansa says its annual costs for working with such online booking sites are over 100 million euros and that it needs to recoup this lost revenue.
Other airlines are using different strategies to woo you back to their home pages. How? By offering you things you can get elsewhere, like a chance to buy extra legroom or access to the airline’s lounge. Airlines are also working hard to improve the efficiency of their websites and some even offer unique services, like booking restaurants at discounts and bargain hotel prices at your destination.
Expect to see more airlines moving in this direction in the near future.
More on this story from Reuters at this link.
