Lufthansa and Travelport Reach Ceasefire in Distribution Battle
Skift Take
Lufthansa appears to be playing well what could've been a weak hand in its negotiations with distribution middlemen. But this deal also may help tech player Travelport level the playing field with some of its rivals.
Lufthansa and Travelport said on Tuesday they had agreed to a revamped distribution deal for airline tickets and related services. The UK-based Travelport is the second of the travel distribution technology players to access the group's full content after U.S.-based rival Sabre signed a deal last December.
"We've concluded a really far-reaching agreement that encapsulates all the values that are important to us," said Tamur Goudarzi Pour, senior vice president channel management at Lufthansa Group network airlines and chief commercial officer of Swiss. "Not just talking commercial, but also the content element and the set up of the contract, and guarantees for everything partners [agencies] need in terms of servicing [such as handling ticket changes]."
Until recently, Lufthansa had withheld some content at favorable commercial terms for partners who connected directly with its computer systems. For example, it continues to add a surcharge for content delivered via Madrid-based Amadeus, the largest of the three global distribution systems. Since 2015, Lufth
