Businesses may soon be shelling out €16 (US$18) when booking employees on Lufthansa.

The new fee applies to all airlines under the Lufthansa Group, including Lufthansa, as well as Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Swiss.

In a bid to increase revenue, Lufthansa has decided that will apply a global distribution system (GDS) charge on all bookings. The new fee is set to take effect from September 1, 2015.

Currently, Lufthansa subsidises the extra costs incurred by passengers who book through an agent – who then completes the booking through a GDS such as Amadeus. At the moment, this is forcing Lufthansa to absorb a GDS cost numbering in the hundreds of millions each year.

The new cost will only be levied on passengers booking through agents. Bookings made directly with the Lufthansa Group will not be made to pay the new fee.

“Until nbow, the percentage of revenue generated from the sale of flight tickets by the airlines has continuously decreased, while that of other services and systems partners are recording increased margins,” said Lufthansa COO Jens Bischof.

The move comes as part of Lufthansa’s implementation of a new commercial strategy, which will also see Lufthansa introduce new modular fares this summer. These new fares give passengers individualised price options and ancillary services, allowing them to ‘pay for the services they want’. www.lufthansa.com