The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) said it believes IATA's Resolution 787 is an ill-advised shift in distribution dynamics that will have negative consequences across the industry.
"Any changes made to the current, well-established airfare distribution system may have huge cost implications and potentially harm downstream buyers," Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO said in a statement.
In a filing with the Department of Transportation (DOT), GBTA urged the agency not to approve Resolution 787 proposed by the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA). IATA is seeking DOT approval of their New Distribution Capability (NDC) policy.
"GBTA is very concerned that planned airline 'profiling' could disadvantage the business traveler and result in differentiated pricing for travelers that will drive those travelers to unknowingly violate a company’s travel policy and raise airfare costs for companies without their knowledge or consent," GBTA said.
"There are too many questions without answers. Will NDC create any real benefit for the corporation who is paying for travel? Or is this just another attempt to reduce airline distribution costs at the expense of the buyer in the form of reduced price transparency and more complexity in the distribution process itself?" McCormick said.
GBTA asked the DOT to not approve IATA’s Resolution 787 "because not enough clarity is available at this time and the consequences of a wrong decision cannot be overstated.”
GBTA’s 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA's network includes 21,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers.
Visit www.gbta.org