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ABTA is set for a legal fight with British Airways after the carrier revealed IATA agents could expect to earn ‘around £1’ from the sale of its tickets in future.

Newman Street lawyers are looking at whether the fee – expected to be the difference between net fares and BA’s online price – satisfies IATA rules that agents must be paid for the work they do.

The flag carrier has been forced to concede the fee to agents after announcing it will finally ditch commission payments from May 1 (Travel Weekly January 21). A separate move to withdraw ticketing authority from IATA agents selling less than £50,000 of BA flights annually will further reduce the number of agents qualifying for these payments.</>

ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds is pressing for a ‘significant’ margin, and is pushing the airline to copy the £2.50 fee it gives to agents in Denmark.

"We want to see a significant differential," Reynolds said. "It is important because, aside from the obvious financial benefits, the IATA agent agreement preserves the protection of agents’ liability and VAT position."

BA head of UK and Ireland sales Alan Burnett said the airline had not made a final decision on the online booking fee, or when it would be rolled out. He said the charge was currently hidden within the price, and would be shown as a separate charge for direct customers.

"We have said all along we will charge for the booking process. We will be transparent," Burnett said.

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