Articles tagged “gds. global distribution systems”

Sonder has been misunderstood by some. It offers both short-term rental and traditional hotel lodging, and it has mostly appealed to leisure travelers, not business people, so far. The startup's outreach to business travelers could change all that.

The American versus Sabre lawsuit touches on bigger questions of how to fairly display ticket prices to agencies and consumers. Most tech providers and regulators must face these questions as airlines unbundle and repackage more airfares and upsells.

The best bets on where Amadeus would acquire a business are hotel and airport tech and software services. But pricey valuations of many target companies are eye-watering right now.

Sabre and its peers are finally accepting airline demands that distribution contracts should have incentives to build technology that boosts the upselling of travelers. The industry frames the move as providing value to flyers because it makes bundled services easier to buy.

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.

Airlines are increasingly using application programming interfaces, or APIs, to distribute their fares. That could let Amazon and other companies more easily sell tickets. That opens up an opportunity for tech players.

Lufthansa Group may have done more than any other airline group to aggravate Amadeus, Travelport, and especially Sabre in recent years. Yet a grudging truce in the distribution battle may be possible, according to this exclusive interview with a top executive.

Travelport's backers have won their feud with lenders. Now Siris Capital and Elliott Management's asset management arm need to defeat payment firm Wex in court over a disputed eNett sale.

Airlines are flying in different directions in the distribution debate. Travelport's deal with Singapore Airlines offers a middle ground between Lufthansa's hardline approach and Air France's cuddlier one.

If you think all airlines will lower their fees to encourage more bookings during the pandemic, think again.