AIRLINES
Qatar Airways acquires stake in Cathay Pacific
GULF CARRIER QATAR AIRWAYS has agreed to purchase a 9.61 per cent stake in Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific. When the deal is signed, Qatar will own nearly 400 million shares in Cathay Pacific. The airline already owns a 20 per cent stake in IAG, 10 per cent in LATAM Airlines Group and 49 per cent in Meridiana.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “Cathay Pacific is a fellow Oneworld member and is one of the strongest airlines in the world, respected throughout the industry and with massive potential for the future.”
AIR FARES
Report: Sabre and American Express GBT talk ‘private channel’ distribution
RAILWAYS
East Midlands Trains launches business service booking system
EAST MIDLANDS TRAINS HAS UNVEILED a new booking system designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
The train operator says the
new system will help SMEs speed up the searching and booking process through a dedicated online portal. Businesses can set up individual profiles with a list of staff and travel policy limits. The team will receive a log-in and can make bookings that will be captured within the company’s profile and stored in one place.
Companies using the system
can either link a corporate payment option to their profile or allow employees to pay for tickets on their own cards. Travellers can also book tickets on other services outside of the East Midlands’ network with no booking fees.
12 BBT January/February 2018
FOLLOWING BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA’S agreement with Amadeus, a similar arrangement has been reached with Sabre that will give agencies a way in on so-called ‘private channel’ content. BBT interviewed Sabre and a TMC to find out more about this complex relationship. Wade Jones, president of Sabre Travel Network, attributed the emergence of GDS fees in Europe to the competitive nature of the market, with legacy airlines forced to invent new ways of competing with low-cost carriers. “It makes business difficult in the EMEA region, so airlines have to work hard to maintain revenue. They’re
experimenting with new ways of protecting their content, and one of those ways is adding fees.” Jones explained that British Airways and Iberia’s agreement with Amadeus and other GDSs is meant to encourage TMCs to negotiate directly with the airlines to have access to different content. “It’s a move away from the one-size-fits-all approach we’re used to. IAG has created the opportunity for TMCs to negotiate access to more complete content – so it saves the airlines on cost, which is then passed on to the TMCs in the form of waiving the fee.” To complete the picture,
BBT spoke to Michael Qualantone, executive vice-president of global supplier relations at
American Express GBT, to get a TMC’s perspective on Sabre’s points. He agreed that GDSs have a big part to play in the implementation of NDC, with achieving IATA Level 3 certification a key part of that. However, Qualantone pointed out that it’s important to look at IAG’s private channel agreements as separate to a move toward NDC. “NDC is simply a new standard that could enable airlines to share content. Today, there is neither risk to content access nor anything wrong with how the GDSs integrate and display content. And despite attempts to link NDC to private channel, the airlines announcing these GDS surcharges are not even NDC-ready themselves. “Our preference is
to have the GDSs fully
own this responsibility, and for us to work with them rather than having to work separately with some airlines. “However, some
airlines will continue to challenge the GDSs on cost and the requirement to provide full content. This cost issue has been around for a very long time and the GDSs have done a very good job in resolving such matters in the past, and we will continue to rely on them for this role well into the future. “It’s important to remember that NDC is neither about new technology nor booking direct with airlines; it is about a new data structure environment, and how airlines will share content. GDSs have evolved over time, and will continue to do so as they integrate NDC and airline content.”
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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