Phone booking fee to increase 50% to $A15 a booking.
Jan 9, 2005, 9:09 pm
#1
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Phone booking fee to increase 50% to $A15 a booking.
Qantas increases phone fare booking fee
January 10, 2005 - 10:59AM
Qantas Airways has raised the fee it charges passengers for booking a flight over the telephone by 50 per cent to $15.
The move is part of a push by Qantas to encourage internet bookings, which are more cost-effective for the airline.
Prior to December 1 passengers booking flights over the telephone paid $10 extra for their fare.
Internet users are not charged the fee.
A spokeswoman for the airline said there was already a $10 fare differentiation and the move formalised the phone fee.
She said the fee only partially covered the cost of running the system that takes telephone bookings.
"Charging a booking fee is a world-wide industry standard," she said.
"It is a fair reflection of the service provided by the consultants."
The majority of customers who book fares directly with Qantas use the internet.
Less than 10 per cent of customers book fares over the telephone and through Qantas retail stores.
Virgin Blue charges passengers wanting to book fares by phone a $10 fee.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Busine...206014450.html
Wonder if the phone agents just all got a 50% pay rise to justify this huge hike?
Is this per ticket or per person or per 'booking'? i.e. 2 pax on one PNR = $15 or $30?
January 10, 2005 - 10:59AM
Qantas Airways has raised the fee it charges passengers for booking a flight over the telephone by 50 per cent to $15.
The move is part of a push by Qantas to encourage internet bookings, which are more cost-effective for the airline.
Prior to December 1 passengers booking flights over the telephone paid $10 extra for their fare.
Internet users are not charged the fee.
A spokeswoman for the airline said there was already a $10 fare differentiation and the move formalised the phone fee.
She said the fee only partially covered the cost of running the system that takes telephone bookings.
"Charging a booking fee is a world-wide industry standard," she said.
"It is a fair reflection of the service provided by the consultants."
The majority of customers who book fares directly with Qantas use the internet.
Less than 10 per cent of customers book fares over the telephone and through Qantas retail stores.
Virgin Blue charges passengers wanting to book fares by phone a $10 fee.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Busine...206014450.html
Wonder if the phone agents just all got a 50% pay rise to justify this huge hike?
Is this per ticket or per person or per 'booking'? i.e. 2 pax on one PNR = $15 or $30?
Jan 9, 2005, 9:15 pm
#2
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Nothing on the Age report I could see that indicated date of implementation. Possibly immediate? If not some quick moving folks might save the cost of a HP and book their OzFest tickets now! 
Seeing Sheraton/Starwood have more than doubled award prices for many Hotels with no official notice this week, nothing would surprise me anymore.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...9&page=2&pp=30
Seeing Sheraton/Starwood have more than doubled award prices for many Hotels with no official notice this week, nothing would surprise me anymore.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...9&page=2&pp=30
Jan 9, 2005, 9:19 pm
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Jan 9, 2005, 10:33 pm
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Originally Posted by ozstamps
[I]Qantas increases phone fare booking fee
January 10, 2005 - 10:59AM
Qantas Airways has raised the fee it charges passengers for booking a flight over the telephone by 50 per cent to $15.
Wonder if the phone agents just all got a 50% pay rise to justify this huge hike?
Is this per ticket or per person or per 'booking'? i.e. 2 pax on one PNR = $15 or $30?
January 10, 2005 - 10:59AM
Qantas Airways has raised the fee it charges passengers for booking a flight over the telephone by 50 per cent to $15.
Wonder if the phone agents just all got a 50% pay rise to justify this huge hike?
Is this per ticket or per person or per 'booking'? i.e. 2 pax on one PNR = $15 or $30?
The bit where you tell us all how United will take a phone booking for free, automatically upgrade you to the next class of service, credit your account with 10,000 points and provide a complimentary blowjob is missing.
Jan 9, 2005, 11:17 pm
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Originally Posted by shillard
The bit where you tell us all how United will take a phone booking for free, automatically upgrade you to the next class of service, credit your account with 10,000 points and provide a complimentary blowjob
If you have ever seen the age of the FAs UA rosters transpac you'll know why I delighted that bit was not offered.
Jan 10, 2005, 7:29 am
#6
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As a reality check, I was booking a Madrid flight just now on KLM website, and below are their current fees. All in Euros, so you can near double them all to get into $A. Terrifying. :
Reservation Fees
A reservation fee is charged for booking a KLM ticket, the amount of which depends upon the reservation method. The cheapest option is to make a reservation via www.klm.nl, where the fee is just € 10 per ticket. Booking your flight by phone via KLM Reservations costs € 25 per ticket for European destinations and € 35 per ticket for intercontinental destinations. Meanwhile, tickets booked at any KLM Ticket Office are subject to a € 45 fee. In short, it pays to use www.klm.nl to book your flight!
Surcharge on Paper Tickets
Travelling with an e-ticket has now become the standard at KLM, offering you a wide range of benefits. E-tickets cannot be lost, forgotten or stolen, and you can check-in online via www.klm.nl. It is still possible to travel on a paper ticket at a surcharge of € 30 per ticket, irrespective of whether you purchase your ticket directly from KLM or via a travel agent.
CRS Surcharge
All travel reservations are stored in a Central Reservations System (CRS), and there are charges involved in using this system. For the lower KLM fares, a CRS surcharge of $ 3 (€ 2.50) per single trip is charged, regardless of how you reserve your ticket.
Fuel Surcharge
With the price of aircraft fuel being both high and volatile, KLM has been forced to add a fuel surcharge to each trip: € 13 per flight on European and North Atlantic destinations,
€ 20 per flight on intercontinental destinations. A return flight from Amsterdam to Rome, for instance, currently costs € 26 more. If your trip includes a stopover, the supplement will be levied for each destination.
The future of the fuel surcharge will depend on developments in the international oil market. It will be reviewed and adjusted when the price of a barrel of crude oil on the world market drops below $ 40 for a continuous period of 30 days.
Safety Surcharge
The above fuel surcharge includes an amount of € 3 per flight for various insurance and security measures. This supplement is detailed separately on your ticket. Insurance premiums have risen considerably due to the threat of terrorism, while structural security measures have been and are still being implemented in various ways both onboard and at airports.
Airport Tax at destination airports
All airports charge airport taxes on airline tickets. The exact amount depends on the destination, and is detailed separately in the total price of the ticket
Reservation Fees
A reservation fee is charged for booking a KLM ticket, the amount of which depends upon the reservation method. The cheapest option is to make a reservation via www.klm.nl, where the fee is just € 10 per ticket. Booking your flight by phone via KLM Reservations costs € 25 per ticket for European destinations and € 35 per ticket for intercontinental destinations. Meanwhile, tickets booked at any KLM Ticket Office are subject to a € 45 fee. In short, it pays to use www.klm.nl to book your flight!
Surcharge on Paper Tickets
Travelling with an e-ticket has now become the standard at KLM, offering you a wide range of benefits. E-tickets cannot be lost, forgotten or stolen, and you can check-in online via www.klm.nl. It is still possible to travel on a paper ticket at a surcharge of € 30 per ticket, irrespective of whether you purchase your ticket directly from KLM or via a travel agent.
CRS Surcharge
All travel reservations are stored in a Central Reservations System (CRS), and there are charges involved in using this system. For the lower KLM fares, a CRS surcharge of $ 3 (€ 2.50) per single trip is charged, regardless of how you reserve your ticket.
Fuel Surcharge
With the price of aircraft fuel being both high and volatile, KLM has been forced to add a fuel surcharge to each trip: € 13 per flight on European and North Atlantic destinations,
€ 20 per flight on intercontinental destinations. A return flight from Amsterdam to Rome, for instance, currently costs € 26 more. If your trip includes a stopover, the supplement will be levied for each destination.
The future of the fuel surcharge will depend on developments in the international oil market. It will be reviewed and adjusted when the price of a barrel of crude oil on the world market drops below $ 40 for a continuous period of 30 days.
Safety Surcharge
The above fuel surcharge includes an amount of € 3 per flight for various insurance and security measures. This supplement is detailed separately on your ticket. Insurance premiums have risen considerably due to the threat of terrorism, while structural security measures have been and are still being implemented in various ways both onboard and at airports.
Airport Tax at destination airports
All airports charge airport taxes on airline tickets. The exact amount depends on the destination, and is detailed separately in the total price of the ticket
Jan 10, 2005, 8:04 pm
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Originally Posted by manfred
Wow, ozstamps, that. Is. Bad. It reads more like a parody than reality.
10E ($A17.50) for INTERNET bookings is outrageous, and we will see that soon here with both Virgin and QF you can bet, now they are "training" us to use it so heavily. The $A15 will then be for internet and with an agent will be $30 or whatever. Just like KLM.
45E ($A78) to issue a ticket at airport is scandalous IMHO:
Meanwhile, tickets booked at any KLM Ticket Office are subject to a € 45 fee. In short, it pays to use www.klm.nl to book your flight!
A very short - less than 1 hour round trip AMS-LHR can run you about $A130 in taxes and fees etc on KLM.