Star Alliance seeks clarification on proposed content sharing by GDS ACAP project

Conveying its concern over cooperation between two GDS, the Star Alliance member carriers are seeking both legal and regulatory clarification on the recently announced content sharing deal between two of the  four largest GDS, Amadeus and Sabre.

Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance chief executive officer said, “We are surprised that two GDS are allowed to co-operate in such a manner in a market which already lacks any real competition.”

“We fully support our members in seeking legal and regulatory advice as well as clarification of the practical implications of this announcement and continue to press ahead with our already commenced ACAP (Alternative Content Access Platform) project,” said Albrecht.

According to an official release from Star Alliance, as one of the alliance’s major cost-down initiatives, the ACAP project is aimed at cutting the more than US$2 billion  which the 18 member carriers spend annual on GDS fees. Star Alliance has currently signed up three vendors – G2 Switchworks, ITA Software and Lufthansa Systems – who are presently developing the new systems.