How Struggling Air India Is Setting the Stage for a Major Battle Among Distribution Giants
Photo Credit: Amadeus (a worker shown here) announced it is back with Air India. Amadeus
Skift Take
Much is at stake for global distribution systems and travel agencies as struggling Air India uses airline distribution as a means to stay afloat. The real winners and losers in this battle are still up in the air, with Amadeus back in the game after pulling out over a year ago.
The battle for India’s lucrative travel market among global distribution systems is not over yet — even if Travelport has won hands down with exclusive rights to distribute Air India’s domestic flights content in India.
For a split second, it appears that Travelport can sit pretty and command control of a vast market all on its own. Sabre announced at the start of the year that Air India had decided to withdraw from it. Amadeus had pulled out in December 2018 after Travelport's win, awarded in October 2018 and fully implemented by January 1, 2020, which was just too much for it to swallow. So the grass was looking green for Travelport with neither Sabre nor Amadeus on the turf.
But Amadeus announced last week that it's back in with Air India, even if it’s only with the airline’s international flights content, not domestic, which is now fully ensconced in Travelport. And while Sabre has failed to renew its contract, which expired at the end of 2019, the company said it i
