US airline surcharges non-Web users

Delta Airlines has imposed a $2 surcharge on customers who do not use the firm's Web site to book tickets.

The move makes Delta one of the first companies to actively penalise customers for booking by conventional means such as by phone or through travel agents.

The US airline said the charge is being made to offset the rising cost of traditional booking methods.

Peter Lines, vice president at research house Input, said Delta is merely forcing customers to pay for the middleman to offer advice as part of the booking process.

James Rotherney, marketing manager at EasyJet said: "We are doing that indirectly anyway." He explained that by phoning the booking centre, customers are already paying that bit extra in the form of a phone bill. "The more correct way would be to charge people less when they use the Internet."