Feature: GDSs - the state of play
➔corporations told AA that they would not. At this point American changed their tune and said
their direct connect was not about GDS bypass and the GDSs could just integrate it themselves.“ That, from Sabre's point of view, is not going
to happen. According to Terry, it would be complicated, cost a lot of money and would drive inefficiencies. “We intend to work with American Airlines
to come to an agreement about how best we can meet their business needs while maintaining the integrity of our system but we do not believe that involves integrating direct connect,“ Terry explains. Apart from the cost of implementing such a connection, Sabre harbours a deep suspicion that customers drawn in to the “walled garden“ of an airline's internal system would be at the mercy of the supplier rather than enjoying the freedom of an open market. Unsurprisingly, Amadeus and Travelport share Sabre's view that the direct connect method, as proposed by American Airlines, is an abomination that, if widely implemented, would bring untold confusion and cost into the distribution of travel that is itself becoming more complex by the day. Rob Golledge, head of marketing at Amadeus
UK, says, “We looked at what it would cost to reproduce the efficient IT hub we have today with what we call the spaghetti hell that is the direct connect future. “Imagine that the largest 200 airlines wish to connect with 90,000 travel agencies. That would be 18 million separate IT links that would need to be built between airlines and agencies. It is not an easy option if that's the way the airlines want to go.“ Golledge argues that the GDS
route remains the only reasonable distribution model in a complex corporate travel world that includes interlining with not only legacy airlines but also low-cost carriers, as well as combining high-speed rail and air in an increasingly popular multi-modal option. In its reaction to American Airlines' allegation of anti-trust activities, Travelport said: “Travelport's aggregation, search and shopping allows travel agents and consumers a full range of choices across over 400 airlines and believes that AA's plans to force a more restrictive distribution model would result in inefficiencies and considerable added costs ultimately to be paid by consumers.“ Yet, puzzlingly, while fighting American Airlines tooth and nail through the US courts, Travelport has struck what it describes as a “landmark agreement“ with Air Canada that bears a striking resemblance to the AA direct connect proposal. Travelport will connect to Air Canada using
the carrier's ac2u platform, which Air Canada says “allows third party booking platforms to
“Imagine that the largest 200 airlines want direct connects with 90,000 travel agencies. That would be 18 million separate IT links that would need to be built”
access Air Canada's full range of products and attributes, including Flight Pass and à la carte pricing, in a simple, industry standard format, while maintaining the branded integrity of the product and... will continue the
growth of Air Canada's direct distribution to both consumers and travel agents.“ The agreement was welcomed by Canada's Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA), an organisation apparently in favour of a distribution shakeup. “Let's face it, the Travelport/Air Canada agreement proves that GDSs and airlines can live peacefully and effectively together in a direct connect environment,“ said ARTA Canada president Bruce Bishins. “The arrangement assures full transparency, allows for continued multi-carrier displays and
comparison shopping, and dispels the myth that direct connect is all about forcing primary one-to-one connections on travel agents and consumers,“ he said. As American Airlines and Air Canada use the
same direct connect messaging standards, ARTA suggests that Travelport's cross-border double standards is due to the possibility that the GDS could only get its hands on Air Canada's full content through direct connect whereas there is nothing much left in American's locker that Travelport wants. The welcome that Canadian travel agents
give to direct connect seems predicated on the assumption that it is delivered by GDS rather than through the spaghetti hell as earlier described by Amadeus. But in the wider world there seems little,
if any, interest by GDSs to open their systems to the type of direct connect that American Airlines wants. That is not to say the GDSs are turning their backs on ancillaries or other ➔
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