Travelocity Business offers improved insight into airline ancillary fees

Travelocity Business has announced a solution that is a first step in improving visibility into airline ancillary fees, bringing additional insight to clients in an area of travel expenses that can range from two-ten per cent of a traveller's Average Ticket Price (ATP). As per the company release, Travelocity Business can break ancillary fees by carrier, then by category. The company will also be able to report the carrier with the highest prices by category. Travelocity Business has developed an algorithm that looks at credit card reports from customers and determines what charges are attributable to ancillary fees. With this knowledge a customer is able to better negotiate with suppliers since they now have a better idea of total cost of ancillary fees. The information will also help the customer set policy regarding these fees. Yannis Karmis, President, Travelocity Business said, "While it is clear that the industry needs more transparency on fee structures and improved clarity throughout the settlement process, Travelocity Business also understands that corporations can't wait to begin gaining insight into a significant travel cost. Our ancillary fee solution begins to give travel and procurement managers visibility into fees by carrier, category and traveller." According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), US airlines collected more than USD 7.8 billion on ancillary revenue in 2009, of which USD 2.7 billion was from baggage fees alone. Ancillary fees now comprise 6.5 per cent of all airline revenue with the majority of the fees being collected post booking at the airport or on-board the aircraft far from the preview of managed corporate travel. Common fees include luggage, seat selection and items purchased on the plane. Without the ability to delineate and extract the amount paid for ancillary services, corporations cannot determine the impact of these fees on air spend, decreasing their ability to apply policy controls to travellers and gain leverage with the suppliers in contract negotiations. http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/travelocity-business-offers-improved-insight-into-airline-ancillary-fees-11165