AA To Add Fees, But Not On GDS
American Airlines today said that effective September 7, it will implement fees for domestic tickets bought from its U.S. reservations centers and at U.S. airports - but not for global distribution system bookings. The move is a blow for Northwest Airlines, whose GDS booking fees have been blasted by the travel industry over the past ten days.

According to American, "This fee does not apply to the traditional travel agencies and online travel sites. These businesses charge their own fees for services they provide." Like Northwest, AA said it would continue to provide fee-free booking and ticketing on its own Website.

Matching Northwest in the U.S., AA will charge $5 for U.S. reservations center ticketing and $10 for airport purchases. "The nonrefundable fee will apply per ticket, whether it is one-way or roundtrip, and also will apply to tickets redeemed as AAdvantage program awards," AA said. "The service fees will be waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members and AAirpass customers."

Whereas Northwest said airport ticketing in Canada would incur a CAD$13 fee, AA did not refer to Canada in its announcement.

AA executive vice president of marketing Dan Garton was quoted in AA's press release saying "charging fees for personalized, value-added services is becoming a common practice." AA said the fees will generate $25 million annually