Hickory Beeline Travel signs up Sabre’s Efficient Access Solution

Hickory Beeline Travel has announced its participation in Sabre’s Efficient Access Solution (EAS).

The EAS programme offers travel agencies full travel content and protection from airline service fees from seven participating carriers including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines among others.

Hickory Beeline Travel, a full-service travel agency focused on both corporate and leisure travel, believes in centralised access to all airline schedules and fares via a Global Distribution System (GDS) as a way to maintain the high levels of service and professional travel advice it delivers to its clients.

“In order to continue to deliver the highest quality professional travel services, Hickory Beeline Travel must avoid the costs and inefficiencies content fragmentation and extra service fees bring,” said Hertha Lasky, president, Hickory Beeline Travel.

“Because we book a wide variety of travel -- everything from a business trip to a special, Silver Anniversary cruise vacation -- our agency must have the most efficient source for all travel content, and we applaud Sabre for working to make this possible through its EAS programme,” said Lasky.

“All travel agencies regardless of their business mix will find it very costly to do business and meet their clients’ needs if they have to search for content in multiple places,” said Lasky. “In July 2006 alone, ARC data indicates agents booked over $5.8 billion in travel, demonstrating the revenue agents bring to the industry. Surely the few airlines that have not signed agreements to date to participate in the GDS programs know agents need full content via the GDS in order to sell tickets and will take steps to join programs like the Efficient Access Solution. No matter what the issue or what’s causing a hold-up in negotiations, I’d like to see all parties involved work towards a mutually beneficial agreement.”