Starlux Airlines to raise booking fees starting Oct. 7

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Starlux Airlines, Taiwan's newest international carrier, announced Monday that it will raise its booking fee from US$30 to US$33, starting Oct. 7.

It will be the second booking fee hike by Starlux Airlines this year. In April, the carrier raised the fee to US$30 from US$25.

Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers.

A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time.

Major GDS platforms include Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo and Worldspan.

In addition to Starlux Airlines, Taiwan's other international carriers -- China Airlines, EVA Airways and budget carrier Tigerair Taiwan -- also announced booking fee hikes recently.

Tigerair Taiwan raised its booking fee from NT$300 (US$9.51) to NT$350, starting Sept. 1 for low-season flights and from NT$400 to NT$450 for peak-season flights.

EVA Air and its wholly owned subsidiary UNI Air raised their booking fees from US$28 to US$33 for all flights except for those departing from the Philippines and Hong Kong, starting Aug. 1.

CAL raised its booking fee from US$28 to US$30, starting July 9.