Germany pushes for ‘pay as you fly’ model

Following the cancellation of 1000’s of flights this summer season, the German state of Decrease Saxony, within the nation’s north west, has known as to abolish advance cost for flight bookings.

As an alternative the state’s transport minister Bernd Althusmann, earlier this month, renewed calls to introduce a ‘pay as you fly’ (PAYF) mannequin, the place cost for airplane tickets is processed upon check-in.

The Federal Ministry for the Surroundings and Shopper Safety welcomed the initiative, which may very well be on the agenda on the subsequent Federal Council assembly set for 16 September, in keeping with a report by German enterprise newspaper Handelblatt.

“The implementation of our initiative would solely lead to minor further prices for the airways. However, travellers can be spared quite a lot of problem,” Althusmann advised Handelblatt, referring to prolonged delays skilled by travellers when in search of refunds.

The German Enterprise Journey Affiliation (VDR), which has been advocating for a PAYF model since 2021, additionally praised the transfer.

VDR President Christoph Carnier stated, “Advance cost for air journey is an outdated normal that must be changed by well timed digital cost.”

“This is able to not solely correspond to authentic shopper pursuits, however the airways might additionally make present processes extra environment friendly and even get rid of them,” he added. “The following paperwork of cancelling ticket bookings and transferring the cash again can be over with.”

Some great benefits of a PAYF mannequin for company journey managers, as BTN Europe previously reported, embody not having to chase refunds or pay a TMC to handle this course of. There’s additionally a decreased danger of shedding cash to airline bankruptcies.

Lufthansa launched a ‘Pay as you fly’ programme for company prospects in Europe in March 2021, the place fares are sometimes dearer and the reserving course of barely totally different, in keeping with a TMC BTN Europe spoke to beforehand. 

Nonetheless, VDR recommends different airways comply with Lufthansa’s instance by providing travellers an extra PAYF possibility first, permitting suppliers to achieve expertise, earlier than a wider roll-out.

“The reserving methods must be programmed and supplemented accordingly with a view to allow the ‘pay as you check-in’ answer and make it the usual,” Carnier stated.

He additionally warned that “care have to be taken” to make sure a PAYF mannequin might be applied on a worldwide scale. 

“Going it alone in Germany may very well be an essential step, nevertheless it must be fastidiously labored out, considering all the implications, with a view to rule out attainable unfavourable penalties,” he stated.

“Everybody have to be conscious that on the time of reserving you might be coming into right into a contract of carriage that’s topic to sure circumstances, akin to no-show and/or rebooking charges.”