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Airlines
Airline distribution's fate may lie somewhere between the skeptical view of Tom Klein, the former CEO of Sabre, and the optimistic view of Alice Ferrari, the CEO of Kyte.
Sean O'Neill | 3 years ago
For years, a handful of large airline groups outside of the U.S. have slapped surcharges on airfare sold via legacy technology. Hawaiian is the first U.S.-based airline to add distribution surcharges.
All airlines need to strike a balance between direct and third-party sales online. The PROS acquisition of fast-growing tech vendor EveryMundo highlights the opportunity to change the mix.
Travel Technology
The story of why Tye Radcliffe, who had been the top distribution executive at United, recently took a role at Accelya suggests a broader tale about a shift in tech dynamism between airlines and vendors.
A significant ancillary play from the Canadian online travel agency, but not quite the leap forward for so-called new distribution capability in the U.S. many would want to see, given Spirit's reach and target flyers.
Matthew Parsons, Skift | 3 years ago
Online Travel
Lufthansa's test partnership may or may not work out. But what's certain is that all major travel rewards programs have broad opportunities to use their customer databases in ways that luxury retailers such as Aston Martin and Omega will actually like.
Sean O'Neill, Skift | 3 years ago
Coronavirus
The commission's inference is that it's more a case of a lack of evidence, rather a compliance with the antitrust rules. Another case into computerized reservation systems is ongoing.
Startups come and startups go. But it's worth looking at Gordian Software regardless. Big-name airlines have taken a sudden interest in the tech vendor, and their interest highlights a broader opportunity for them in upselling ticketed flyers.
Rather than guessing how people will compare flights and shop in the future, it's going to focus on giving travel agencies and other channels the right airline data via its next generation storefront, and let them figure it out. It makes perfect sense in today's unpredictable world.
Emirates is one of the largest airlines yet to try to shake up how tickets are sold worldwide. Sabre is at the negotiation table to avoid a content cutoff in July, while other tech partners and travel agencies are still figuring out how to adapt to the new commercial model.
Sean O'Neill, Skift | 4 years ago
