m-Travel.com and Travel Distribution News

Archive Category: GDS CRS

Sabre opts for SeeBeyond ICAN Suite

Sabre Holdings has opted for SeeBeyond ICAN Suite as its standard
integration platform for supplier- and customer-facing applications.

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reader feedback to "Sabre to re-consider its strategy in the UK"

The brandrepublic.com item predicting the demise of the
travelocity.co.uk brand and website in the United Kingdom was off the
mark.

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German rail and travel centers switch to Sabre

German rail network Deutsche Bahn (DB) has switched 204 of its railway station-based Travel Centres and 57 Reiseland Deutsche Bahn travel agencies to the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). The operation is one of Sabre Travel Network’s largest single European conversion exercises and all 261 new outlets are expected to be fully converted by Q3 2005, Sabre announced.

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Low-cost airlines sell direct on web, avoid GDSs

The rapid expansion of low-cost airlines is causing a clash of world views with traditional airlines. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, on one side are the traditional carriers, operating through traditional global distribution systems (GDSs) such as Amadeus or Sabre. On the other are the low-cost airlines, Virgin Blue and Qantas' Jetstar, seeking to move to a different model using internet-based systems. The gulf between the two is large and, according to one industry player, will not get any smaller. Virgin Blue's global sales manager, Jon Marshall, says anyone not working on directly connected systems now will "end up with a big dinosaur."

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Four airlines pick Navitaire online booking

MINNEAPOLIS -- Navitaire, a leading provider of online reservations and other services to the airline industry, has added four new customers. With these new carriers, Navitaire is expanding its roster of clients to now include regional airlines.

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Cendant to buy Orbitz for $1.25 billion

Business Travel News reports that Cendant Corp. and Orbitz today reached a definitive agreement for Cendant to buy all the shares of Orbitz for $27.50 per share in cash or $1.25 billion. The parties to the deal, which is subject to regulatory and other approvals, expect to complete it in November. The acquisition was "not completely surprising," said Ian Wheeler, vice president of marketing for global distribution system competitor Amadeus, "Cendant has gone through a process of vertical integration, and this is in keeping with that strategy. What is unclear is what this means to the marketplace. Will Orbitz somehow be integrated, or will it continue business as usual? If the Cendant-Orbitz deal goes through, you will see more of these types of deals."

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IBM, Amadeus to build Lufthansa online portal

IBM and e-Travel, the e-commerce business unit of Amadeus, have been chosen by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, one of the world's top airlines, to build and run its new generation Internet portal, EyeforTravel.com is reporting. "Faster, easier and more customer-friendly." This is the goal of Lufthansa.com and the cornerstone of a 5-year agreement under which IBM and Amadeus e-Travel, together with Lufthansa aim to offer improved service to Lufthansa.com visitors with an intuitive, yet comprehensive booking and faring process.

Continue reading: U.S. airlines drop unprofitable flights in realignments

Lawsuits fly over Northwest's new GDS fees

As expected, the battle of the lawsuits and press releases started soon after an announcement Tuesday by Northwest Airlines that it was taking steps to align its distribution costs with those of the low-cost carriers it increasingly is competing with for customers. The airline said it was instituting a "shared GDS fee" for travel agencies and other customers who don't use the Northwest Web site.

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New company offers low cost airline distribution

CHICAGO -- G2 SwitchWorks, a new company with a management team of Orbitz alumni, has announced that seven major airlines have signed letters of intent for the development of a new travel distribution network called TRUEconnect. G2 Switchworks founder and CEO Alex Zoghlin, formerly CIO at Orbitz, said the system will lower industry distribution costs while enabling agencies to streamline their workflows and reap significant cost savings. The airlines, representing about 80% of total third party or agency sales, are Alaska Air Group, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, UAL Corporation and US Airways. The seventh company was not announced.

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Northwest Airlines to charge for GDS bookings

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a move that will almost certainly cause a flurry of law suits, Northwest Airlines announced today that it is taking "steps to lower its domestic distribution costs by aligning them with those of the low-cost carriers it increasingly is competing with for today's domestic travelers." Northwest will offer consumers and travel agents options that allow them to choose the level of service they desire when purchasing or issuing tickets for travel within the 50 United States.

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Opodo CEO Scowsill resigns, replaced by Tompkins

LONDON -- David Scowsill, CEO of Opodo, the struggling pan-European online travel service, has announced his immediate resignation after two years with the company. Last month, Amadeus announced that it was taking a controlling interest in Opodo. Other than saying he is "leaving to pursue new opportunities," Scowsill did not give a reason for his departure.

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Sabre Airline Solutions reports record online sales

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Sabre Airline Solutions reports today that the dollar value of airline tickets booked through SabreSonic Web now tops $250 million per month. This represents nearly 80 percent growth of total SabreSonic Web bookings from March 2003 through March 2004. By the end of 2004, Sabre Airline Solutions expects the dollar value of tickets booked through SabreSonic Web to exceed $3 billion, and the number of tickets booked to exceed 9.5 million.

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Amadeus to acquire controlling interest in Opodo

MADRID -- As yet another sign of further consolidation of the European online travel market, Amadeus announced today that it will acquire a controlling 55% stake in Opodo, the pan-European online travel service, with a €62 million cash injection. Opodo is an online travel service created by nine of Europe's leading airlines. Opodo will remain as an independent entity, according to the announcement.

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Airlines commit to 100% e-ticketing by 2007

SINGAPORE -- A 100% commitment to e-ticketing by the end of 2007 was approved at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association as part of an initiative to re-engineer many of the air transport industry's processes to "simplify" the airline business. "We will drive paper tickets out of the system, reduce airline costs and at the same time improve customer service," said IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani.

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American travel agents can now sell Eurostar rail

MIAMI -- North American travel agencies affiliated with Amadeus can now sell, price, book, and issue validated Eurostar rail documents independent of airline ticketing. Popular with American tourists, Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking London, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris and the French Alps.

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Worldspan offers LeisureLink vacation rentals

ATLANTA -- In a first by one of the big four global travel distribution systems (GDS), Worldspan is going to integrate vacation rental properties from LeisureLink listings. Worldspan said that online and traditional travel agencies will be able to easily distinguish these high end vacation homes on the same availability display screen as hotel inventory.

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Travel agencies losing millions in hotel commissions

MADRID -- Travel agencies, both traditional and online, are losing an estimated 20% in uncollected hotel booking commissions. This adds up to €110 million (US$134 million) annually. Now, Amadeus, a global travel technology company based in Spain, and Net Trans, a commission handling service with headquarters in Norway, have launched a service for travel agencies to protect their hotel revenues by automatically securing prompt commission payments.

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Traveldoo offers tools to control travel expenses

PARIS -- Traveldoo, a French company with a global business plan to provide systems for companies to control travel expenses, has released a new product called Traveldoo Enterprise. The company says this product proposes a new set of capabilities to help large organisations improve the performance of their travel procurement processes and optimise their European travel spend.

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Opodo CEO sees more consolidation in online travel

LONDON -- There will be further consolidation of the online travel industry and it is inevitable in Europe the Pan-European companies will be the winners, said Opodo.com CEO David Scowsill in a keynote address at EyeforTravel's European Travel Distribution Summit. "Pure nationals will operate in niches, but cannot play globally," Scowsill said.

"Consolidation, for both the leisure and corporate travel players, has been the name of the game over the last 12 months, as we have seen a spate of acquisitions and mergers and the US," he said.

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Text of speech by Opodo CEO David Scowsill

David Scowsill, CEO of Opodo.com, gave the opening keynote address at EyeforTravel's European Travel Distribution Summit, attended by 1,000 managers and executives from all sectors of the travel industry. Opodo is owned by nine of Europe's leading airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa and by leading Global Distribution System (GDS) and travel industry technology provider, Amadeus.

Opodo.com offers travelers online travel service for world travel, with access to flights from 400 airlines, 34,000 hotel properties, charter flights, city breaks, package holidays and a worldwide fleet of hire cars, as well as travel insurance and airport parking.

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Older traveler market to show largest growth in 2004

LONDON -- The older traveler segment of the European travel market will have the largest growth this year with an expected increase of 33%, according to the latest Travel Index from Opodo.com, the Pan-European online travel company. The survey also found that online travel agencies expect to grow by 23% this year, with specific increases for tour operators, online hotel bookings and dynamic packaging. More than a third of respondents (35%) also believe that corporate business travel will return to the levels last seen in 2000.

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Sabre Travel, Proximus Belgacom sign deal

BRUSSELS -- Sabre Travel Network, a global distributionsystem (GDS) that connects travel suppliers and agents, has signed a contract with Belgian mobile phone operator Proximus to make its Virtually There personalised travel website available through Proximus’ wireless Internet service. The deal gives Proximus customers who book their travel through a Sabre Connected travel agent full access to their personal travel details at virtuallythere.com, via the Proximus network.

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UK broadcaster to use GetThere online booking

LONDON -- British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), the United Kingdom’s leading digital television provider, has signed a contract to use the GetThere DirectCorporate online self-booking system for business travel. BSkyB expects about 500 employees will use the product to book about 7,000 trips a year.

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Travel seller lastminute.com offers SMS newsletter

LONDON -- European online travel seller lastminute.com has contracted with InfoSpace to provide an SMS newsletter service for mobile phone users. The weekly newsletter will be used by lastminute.com as a marketing tool to increase sales from customers visiting its web and WAP portals. 

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TravelCLICK ranks European, Asian hotel markets

CHICAGO -- TravelCLICK has released results for the top ten destination markets in Europe and Asia, based on hotel room nights booked electronically through the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) during the second quarter of 2002. 

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Sabre launches mobile customer services

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Sabre Holdings today announced the launch of Sabre Inform mobile services, a suite of customer service tools intended to reduce costs associated with call center management and customer service for both airlines and the North American travel agent community by keeping them connected with their travelers.

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Galileo to provide SAP customers real-time data

WINDSOR, UK -- Galileo International, a major provider of electronic global distribution services for the travel industry, has signed a global agreement with with e-business software company SAP AG to provide SAP customers real-time access to information from 500 airlines, 30 car-hire companies and 51,000 hotel properties. SAP customers also will have access to 431 tour operators and all major cruise line companies.

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Air Jamaica picks Sabre reservation system

KINGSTON -- Air Jamaica has selected Sabre to modernize technology systems driving reservations, airport check-in and departure control operations. Under the new agreement, valued at over $10 million, Sabre will implement technologically advanced airline systems designed to enhance productivity and reduce costs for Air Jamaica worldwide.

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Amadeus powers China's TravelSky bookings

MADRID -- For the first time China's 7,000-plus travel agents can officially make reservations with hotels and car rental companies through a Chinese computer reservation system (CRS). Amadeus Global Travel Distribution has announced an agreement with TravelSky Technology Ltd. to provide China's only computer reservation system access to Amadeus' inventory of some 58,000 hotels, 50 car rental companies and numerous other travel related products including ferry, rail, and cruise operations.

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Galileo agents get commissions on phone rentals

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- International travelers can now turn to their Galileo-connected travel agency for reliable mobile telecommunication service no matter where they travel. Galileo International and Hirefone have announced that for the first time, travel agents worldwide can reserve short-term mobile phone rentals for their clients through Galileo e-Agent, an Internet portal for travel agents that integrates travel-related information.

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Worldspan names new VP of supplier services

ATLANTA -- Vela McClam-Mitchell has been appointed by Worldspan to the position of vice president and general manager, Worldwide Travel Supplier Services. In her new post, McClam-Mitchell is responsible for building Worldspan's portfolio of travel supplier participants and delivering enhanced value to this key customer base. 

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Sabre reports European travel agency switches

Sabre is reporting this week that seven significant European travel agencies have converted to the Sabre system so far this year. The conversions have opened the door to the Uniglobe franchise in the UK, grown the company’s French booking share by 2%, given it bookings leadership in Greece and strengthened its position in Scandinavia, Sabre says.

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Sabre selects Siebel eBusiness application

SAN MATEO, Calif -- Sabre has selected the Siebel eBusiness Applications to synchronize and speed up the coordination of customer interactions across multiple channels. Sabre announced that it plans to use Siebel Sales 7 to enable its sales organizations to identify and pursue top opportunities that will improve visibility into the sales pipeline. 

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Retirement for Travelocity CEO Jones announced

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- The retirement, immediate departure and replacement of Terrell C. Jones, 53, as CEO of Travelocity was announced today, but it was not much of a surprise. Last month, Sabre completed buying those shares of Travelocity that it did not already own, a move that Jones had fought unsuccessfully in the board room, and he was a defendant in a stockholders' law suit.

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Struggling travel agencies get help from Sabre

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- With airline commissions cut to zero in an already tough market, traditional travel agencies are having trouble just keeping the doors open for business. With this in mind, Sabre has Empowering Agenda, which is described as "a bold new five-point plan to empower U.S. travel agents to better compete in the face of sweeping industry changes." The new services include a module that gives travel agents new wireless capabilities using Sabre's m-commerce services. 

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Worldspan launches interactive travel TV

ATLANTA -- Worldspan is launching an interactive television (iTV) travel shopping channel that will enable TV viewers to shop for complete vacations packages and other travel directly through their television. Worldspan is providing TV-based interactive travel information to more than 550,000 Charter Communications cable customers across the United States. 

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Amadeus e-Travel, Broadvision launch self-service

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- BroadVision, a leading provider of enterprise self-service applications, and e-Travel, a business unit of Amadeus, have introduced a new major version of BroadVision e-Travel. The companies said this is the first software application of its kind to offer the travel industry integrated support for leisure, managed and unmanaged travel markets with a new J2EE (Java 2, Enterprise Edition) framework.

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Amadeus picks Infotriever for new e-Travel unit

TORONTO -- Amadeus has chosen technology from Infotriever for the newly created business unit e-Travel that provides global services for airlines, corporations, travel agencies and other travel partners. Amadeus will deploy the Infotriever system across the portfolio of consumer and enterprise travel technology solutions of its e-Travel unit, enabling travelers to save itineraries to their desktop computers, PDAs and other handheld devices using Palm OS, MS Outlook, Lotus Notes and Act 2000.

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Cendant, IBM sign $1.4 billion outsourcing deal

NEW YORK -- In one of the travel industry's widest ranging outsourcing engagements, Cendant and IBM have formed a ten-year, $1.4 billion IT services relationship. The agreement covers Cendant's 40-plus business units, including Galileo International, whose GDS unit is among the largest systems of its kind, connecting approximately 44,000 travel agency locations to 500 airlines, 40 car rental companies, 47,000 hotel properties, 370 tour operators, and all major cruise lines throughout the world. 

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Sabre's Virtually There now on BlackBerry wireless

TORONTO -- Sabre Holdings Corp. has announced that its Virtually There, a personalized travel Web site, is now available on BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds. This new service enables the fast-growing BlackBerry wireless user market to access and receive personal itineraries, weather and notification about flight changes or cancellations. This information is accessible when travellers book their trip through a Sabre connected travel agency, online booking site, or other participating travel supplier.

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CustomWeather offers geo-coded wireless alerts

SAN FRANCISCO -- CustomWeather, a leading global supplier of syndicated weather data, has launched its geo-coded Severe Weather Alerts service. "Now, for the first time, alerts from the U. S. National Weather Service are available as a real-time, geo-coded XML data feed," the company announcement said.

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European air portal Opodo.com selects Galileo

WINDSOR, UK -- Galileo International, a leading provider of electronic global distribution services for the travel industry, has been  selected to provide market-specific global distribution services for the recently launched, pan-European, online travel portal, Opodo.com. Of the major companies in travel distribution, Galileo has taken the lead in developing a full range of wireless services. 

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Dollar Rent A Car expands wireless reservations

TULSA, Okla. -- Customers of Dollar Rent A Car can now book a vehicle directly through dollar.com from personal data assistants (PDAs), but can also now make reservations from Internet-ready cell phones and pocket PCs. In making the announcement, Dollar said it is the first car rental company to launch wireless service accessibility of its Web site for wireless customers using cell phone and pocket PC devices. Customers can check rates, as well as make, cancel, view and modify reservations.

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Sabre, Motorola offer wireless to business travelers

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Sabre Holdings has announced the signing of an agreement with Motorola to power its Mobile Office Solution with travel and ticketing capabilities for mobile professionals. Motorola is integrating Sabre's wireless travel services as part of its Travel Connector component of the Mobile Office Solution.

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