An attempt by Delta Air Lines to encourage
flyers to purchase tickets online by charging a fee for telephone bookings
has been discontinued, the company said.
On January 11, Delta announced it would charge an additional $2 fee for all
domestic bookings that were not done through the airline’s Web site. But
due to public criticism, the company this week rescinded the surcharge.
“The market spoke and we responded,” said spokesperson Jackie Pate. “The
surcharge was discontinued because of “competitive
reasons.”
The company had said that streamlining ticket purchases services online
would save an estimated $1 billion in distribution costs.
Online ticket purchases account for approximately 2.5 percent of all
tickets sold and will increase to 8.4 percent by 2002, say industry
analysts. The travel industry represents the single largest retail
category online, according to Forrester
Research and is expected to reach $30 billion in sales by 2003.