British Airways Wants to Get Smarter About Selling Airline Tickets
Skift Take
Airlines have long hoped for a technological development that would enable them to take back control from travel's middlemen. The New Distribution Capability was supposed to be that solution, but change of this magnitude takes time. At the moment, the British Airways parent seems more than happy to eat up the cost.
When the International Air Transport Association announced plans to give airlines more control over how they sell flight tickets back in 2012, it looked like the industry was about to witness a massive realignment.
As of yet this hasn’t really happened. The big three global distribution systems, namely Amadeus, Travelport, and Sabre (there’s also China’s TravelSky), are still there and the industry is busy coming to grips with the much talked about New Distribution Capability.
But that’s not to say things aren’t going on. Iberia and British Airways —both part of International Airlines Group — along with Lufthansa are among a number of carriers to impose a fee for transactions booked via third parties. International Airlines Group has signed a number of direc
