TravelBizBuzz

American Airlines is taking distribution into its own hands, and the GDSs are scrambling to keep up.

The carrier has adopted a new policy for agents who book segments through non-preferred channels, according to guidance posted July 12 on American’s Web site.

The policy provides full access to American’s full schedule, fare and inventory content to “competitive booking sources,” but charges $3.50 per segment for access to content through “other booking sources.”

Competitive booking sources include specific Worldspan and Galileo optional programs, all G2 SwitchWorks’ GDS products and all Farelogix’s GDS products. Agents will be charged when they use any Sabre or Amadeus products, Worldspan’s existing product and any other Galileo or Apollo program.

The new policy, which was developed to help American better compete with low-cost carriers, is effective Sept. 1. American may eventually withhold content from its non-preferred suppliers if they fail to display its content on “neutral terms as compared with other airlines,” the carrier stated.

In response to American’s policy change, Galileo announced its opt-in Content Continuity Program, meant to protect its agency customers from airline service fees -- including those announced by American, according to a July 13 release.

Effective Sept. 1, the program will provide agencies with access to full public content and negotiated non-public fares from all airlines participating in the Galileo GDS, as well as access to air, car, hotel, cruise and tour content on its agent desktop.

The Content Continuity program provides “airlines with market competitive distribution savings and delivers our travel agency partners efficient access to the full content they require while protecting them against airline service fees,” said Kurt Ekert, senior VP of supplier services for Travelport.

Worldspan GDS also issued a statement in response to American’s announcement promising to provide details of its optional products next week.

For more information about American Airlines' new policy, click here or stay tuned to the next issue of Travel Distribution Report.

Posted by The Bureau at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today's guest blogger is Henry Harteveldt, VP of travel research for Forrester Research. Harteveldt took a few moments to share his thoughts on the Conference Board's report that claims online travel has reached a two-year low:

It seems the Conference Board’s study may have overlooked some points that the travel industry itself is aware of:

a) Women tend to do more of the travel planning than men, unlike the results of the Conference Board study which stated the opposite to be true.

b) Most people make their travel plans before the summer, not during it. It’s almost July, so it’s likely that many travelers have already completed their summer vacation research by now.

c) And, finally, travel has not been thwarted by rising fuel costs. In fact, many flights are already sold out.

Do you have a comment about a story or news item? Tell it to us and your thoughts could become a blog feature! Simply e-mail us your ideas or leave a comment below and we'll take it from there.

Posted by The Bureau at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sabre Travel Network is promising GNEs aren’t the only ones who can help ailing airlines cut costs.

The GDS has launched a program designed to provide travel agents with full access to airline content while also helping carriers reduce distribution costs, according to a June 7 release. Carriers that participate in the Efficient Access Solution will receive a reduced booking fee for reservations made by participating agencies, and agency members will receive full content and protection from airline service fees, among other incentives.

Sabre Travel Network’s intention is to “develop a multilateral approach that balances the needs of all industry players” and puts a stop to industry fragmentation, explained Chris Kroeger, senior VP for North America.

However, Sabre’s motivation for introducing the program may not be so cut and dry. “Clearly, after cutting back revenues in airline renegotiations, Sabre is using this program to keep their bottom line even by taking money out of the pockets of travel agencies,” commented Ellen Lee, VP of business development for alternate distribution system G2 SwitchWorks.

G2 boasts full content agreements with 11 airlines, including American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines. G2 also works with multiple agencies, including Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and reaches approximately 9,000 agents through its’ G2Agent product and partnership with Trisept Solution’s VAX VacationAccess.

To contribute to this story, send us an email with "Efficient Access Solution" in the subject line. Otherwise, stay tuned to the June 19 issue of Travel Distribution Report for a detailed analysis of Sabre’s new program.

Posted by The Bureau at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)