Beginning September 1, 2015, passengers who book their Lufthansa Group airline tickets via ‘GDS’ outlets will be assessed a €16/$18 surcharge.

‘GDS’ or Global Distribution System tickets are the tickets that are booked through travel agents or online portals such as Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline, etc.

The surcharge is being added due to increases in expenses associated with GDS tickets.   Lufthansa Group’s expense incurred with GDS tickets runs into the hundreds of millions of Euro each year due to the expense of the distribution network (fees and commissions paid to the vendors).

Tickets  purchased through a Lufthansa Group Airline’s website, service center or ticket counter at the airport will not be subject to this surcharge.  This applies to Lufthansa, Brussels, Austrian, SWISS, and Germanwings/Eurowings websites.

a close-up of a plane