Articles tagged “airline distribution”

For years, airlines, travel agencies, and their technology partners acknowledged they could adopt more modern ways of selling plane tickets. The sticking point lately has been less technological than commercial. Thursday's deal is a seismic moment serving as a model for how the sector might afford to transition to the future.

Sabre is a bellwether for the global travel industry as a major processor of transactions for airlines and hotels. The picture isn't pretty. But the company looks capable of weathering a delayed resumption in travel.

Farelogix CEO Jim Davidson says the pandemic presents opportunities. Yet despite that brave face, it's hard to see Farelogix facing anything but revenue declines during the crisis now that it's lost the Sabre acquisition.

We read the 100-page rulings on the proposed merger of Sabre and Farelogix so you don't have to. Airlines want to take over a lot of the tech work from Sabre and its rivals and pay travel agencies directly for bookings. American Airlines says the new model has already saved it millions. But the rulings found few tech vendors up to the task.

Travelport CEO Greg Webb tells us that the travel distribution giant's private equity investors support a major technology overhaul and that it will involve minimal heartache for agencies. It'll be notable if Travelport's backers defy the reputation of private equity investors for mercilessly extracting value.

A federal judge heard closing arguments in the U.S. government's antitrust suit to block Sabre's acquisition of Farelogix. Inside the courtroom, Judge Leonard Stark's comments didn't show his hand. The case seems a close call.

It's notable that we had a much easier time finding experts who supported Sabre's proposed merger of Farelogix than opponents. But this court case will be decided on legal nuances, and its outcome is impossible to predict. We pity the judge who has to endure this crash course in airline technology and distribution.

Travel agencies can say goodbye to old-school excel spreadsheets and paper agreements for keeping track of airfare sales. Today, digitalization provides a much easier and powerful tool to manage incentive and commission contracts with airlines.

Airlines have invested in making many of their offerings increasingly data-driven in recent years. Yet they haven’t taken the same approach to schedules, one of their preeminent products.

It's rare for airline contract disputes with distribution companies to reach this outcome. Finnair will suffer financially until it cuts a deal. Sabre, for its part, risks embarrassment if it's seen as bullying a midsize carrier. Nobody usually ends up winning in these classic games of chicken.