Articles tagged “gds. global distribution systems”

Andrew Jordan arrived at Travelport six months ago with a mission to reduce the frustrations travel management companies have with the software their agents use.

In an exclusive, the leading group of U.S. travel advisors responds to claims by American Airlines that they're Luddites. The group says the carrier's effort to force them to adopt its preferred technology for booking flights is too fast and that, essentially, it's a bully.

American Airlines's top boss Robert Isom feels confident in the carrier's evolving distribution strategy, the most assertive of all the carriers in the Americas. But some travel agents still feel bullied.

The abundance of hotel booking channels calls for a tech-enabled distribution strategy. Central Reservation Systems help manage rates and availability across multiple booking channels and have the potential to become a $1.3 billion tech category.

After years of hype, Air France-KLM finally plans to take stronger measures to prompt corporate travel agencies to adopt next-generation methods of processing bookings. Yet its serial delays underscore how hard it is to make industry changes.

Sabre has stood apart from its travel tech peer companies by being the first to cease offering flights from Aeroflot. It's an unusual step as it comes at a cost to the company. The price of doing the right thing.

Amadeus makes a plausible case that it will come out ahead after all the ongoing changes to how airlines distribute their tickets to travel agencies evolve.

Sabre's rebound will depend on a snapback in long-haul business travel, which has lagged the domestic leisure recovery. Yet the travel technology firm is wise to keep spending on much-needed system improvements despite the financial headwinds.

Lufthansa appears to be playing well what could've been a weak hand in its negotiations with distribution middlemen. But this deal also may help tech player Travelport level the playing field with some of its rivals.

Operational software may sound dull, but it could become dramatically lucrative for Sabre once the crisis recedes and airlines and hotels resume spending on travel technology.