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This article is explaining how Henry Harteveldt, an airline and travel industry analyst, believes that GDSs will evolve into value creation hubs, or VCHs, over the next five years. He believes GDSs have served airlines the best among many transactionally based industried; however, many areas of airline marketing, sales, distribution and e-commerce are looking for more. He specifically states that airlines are looking for "more flexible, robust commerce platforms built on contemporary software and architecture", as well as "commerce platforms that can support extensive fare and product transparency, dynamic pricing, rich basic and ancillary product merchandising and retailing and the ability to reliably and securely process the massive volume of shopping sessions." VCHs will be used to support the high-volume, high frequency shopping, similar to GDSs, and the system will the new technology that powers airline CRS/PSS host systems, reducing the need for costly conversion disruption.

Oracle launches a new data Management Model that will allow airlines to optimize the collection and analysis of passenger data in order to enhance and personalize the travel experience. With this model airlines will be able to consolidate data collected by legacy systems, simplifyng it's analysis in order to support all aspects of it's business.

With the implementation of Oracle Airline Data Model airlines will have all data needed to maximize the passenger experience and create a competitive analysis to reduce cost.

In this article, Christine Negroni discusses the future of airline booking and travel. Over the last ten years, there has been a shift from telephone reservations to computer reservations with the birth of the World Wide Web. With new mobile devices and smart phones, customers are now trying to find the newest, easiest way to work a plane ticket or a vacation. Companies have to strategically plan how they will market to thei customers. FOr leisure, companies will want to reach them through Facebook and Twitter. With the internet, airlines today need to focus on their image. The image is just as important as the product you sell, or the plane ticket the customer purchases. With Youtube, anyone can post whatever they'd like, so hospitality companies and airlines especially, need to be weary. Because the aviation industry is so large, the internet give customers and companies a way to interact on a deeper, more personal level.

This pretty much what we have discussed in class along with the history of  the way hospitality companies have grown so much since the 60s. 

This article describes the development of the GDS, and also introduce its role as a non-air hospitality services marketing channel. The authors introduce the evolution of GDS, and show some points about how hospitality marketing through GDS.

This article goes into depth with the development of the primary electronic distribution channel. Surprisingly, as early as the 1960's travelers and travel agents where booking reservations via letter, telex, or telephone. Most of the reservations for airlines, hotels, and car rentals were conducted via telephone. Because of such an increase in demand of the service, airlines installed computer terminals to reduce cost and increase bookings for the airlines. airlines believed it would be cost efficient to install such system instead of hiring extra staff. The airlines also predicted that travel agents would reserve more with the airlines that supplied the GDS terminal, which in fact turned out to be true. After, the travel agents became heavily comfortable with the system, they noticed that it could also accommodate to bookings for hotels, car rentals, and travel services. The potential of the travel distribution was obvious and many non-air travel companies became major participants within the system.

The role of GDSs in the travel industry has a major impact on revenue, competition, and reservations. In this article, Sabre, one of the largest known GDSs was sued by US Airways for failing to provide a fair contract to the airline. The lawyers from US Airways claimed that Sabre threatened to "cut off the airlines from a network of thousands of travel agents worldwide who depend on inventory that the tech giant provides via desktop software". The jury concluded that Sabre indeed violated antitrust law. Sabre, apparently, charged US Airways increased fees though their cost per transaction decreased because of the advances in technology. According to the article, Sabre argued that the fees were justified relative to the cost that an airline would incur to distribute its fares by other methods. This helped the agents have access to a plethora of information regarding price comparison. In my opinion, this is just a messy situation. However, it goes to show how important and how much of an impact that GDSs have on airline companies. They determine what consumers or agents readily see on the site. They determine how much of a presence a company has. The GDSs provide company information to a worldwide network that markets to consumers. Having a GDS system hold back or increase fees has proved to be detrimental. Ethical issues have come into play. The fact cannot be ignored that the technology being used by Sabre is helping lower cost for transactions. This decrease in cost should have resulted in a decrease in fees for the airlines. Nevertheless, the key to this article is that GDSs have the power (though Sabre did illegally) to determine which avenue a company goes through in regards to apparent competition and markets. The advancement of GDSs is resulting in lower cost transactions and giving agents and consumers "more bang for their buck". So it is important that the relationship between GDSs and airline companies remain ethical in all ways, especially dealing with

My article this week is about how GDS (Global Distribution Systems) can be compared to a seatbelt. The author opens the article discussing the main reasons we still continue to use seatbelts; even though they aren't the most comfortable or fashionable items to use, they still do their jobs in saving our lives when it comes to a collision of some sort. The author is in favor of GDS and makes the claim that like seatbelts, the GDS may not be the most up-to-date or may not appear to be as nice as other local systems to each individual airline, but they get the job done and there are no other systems out there like it that we know of (no other systems that do everything he GDS system does that is). The main topic of discussion that the article is concerned with is the recent decision made by the company Lufthansa to start charging its customers an additional surcharge for using GDS systems instead of going through its own system. The author clearly makes it know that she doesn't believe Lufthansa when they say they are charging this additional surcharge because GDS is the most expensive channel to go through. "Because there's no reason to think that an airline should expect to distribute its products without any cost, Lufthansa's recent gambit seems more of a tactic for increasing lagging direct distribution... Its strategy seems to rest in shifting distribution costs to corporate buyers" claims Rose, the author of the article. The author also points out some of the draw backs of using agency portals, the main reason being that a customer cannot compare rates of other competitors and that agency portals cannot handle high volume transactions like the GDS can. It is also made known that there are costs that come with other channels as well, like the prices you pay for building airline websites and keeping them updated. The author concludes that "Given the history of negotiations between airlines and GDSs, it's impossible to know whether Lufthansa is using DCC as

-E-commerce options and features continue to evolve. -The first airline ticket was sold online in 1995. Soon after web check-in was introduced. -The airline industry is about selling tickets online and providing a digital experience. -Expectations of travelers and airlines constantly grow. -An important challenge is the airline keeping its online presence appealing. What is appealing to one person(s) may not be appealing to others. -Booking sites have to be simple and streamlined, but never boring or distracting. It should also have a modern look and be updated every 1-2 years. -User testing, focus groups, advanced software-engineering experiments, market segmentation and analytics investments are vital to determine if the website is fresh and appealing. -Choose usability over aesthetics. -An airline's technology partner needs to be able to customize the website to be unique and be able to refresh the site when needed. -When customers enjoy online services they create an emotional bond and are more likely to come back. -No one is anonymous in the online environment. -If a specific traveler is offered the right product at the right time, then it will increase revenue. -airlines need to provide relevant services that fit each customer's situation. -Responsive sites are essential to adapt to different devices used. -Consider costs of maintaining a response site, the impact of having too many choices, and providing value in options rather than specifics of each item. -Increased relevancy is when it touches upon what it offers and when it offers it. -Setting trends in e-commerce will bring value to airlines around the world as well as the airline industry.

One of the 4 major GDS systems-Amadeus has begun offering a cloud service on the Google Compute infrastructure as a service platform to prevent overloading by internet requests. It helps to scale Amadeus service to support internet flight searches. The cloud-based system can help airlines to cope with the huge increase in search and consumer can receive 100% accurate results of the airline's availability.

This article talked about the development history and facing challenge of GDS in the airline industry. It also analyzed the changing role of GDS in the travel industry, and how the airlines tried to be survived by providing new products and services to generate more revenue. Finally, the article came to the conclusion that the airline industry cannot be duopolists nor monopolists.   

Air Canada's new platform, NDC Exchange, which works outside of the GDSes, allows the airline to manage the way its bookings appear on travel agency registration systems. The system was created by ATPCO (Airline Tariff Publishing Co.) and SITA, the latter of which transforms the data while the former provides the data services that make it have the ability to run,. Recently, several GDSes, such as Sabre, Amadeus, along with other entities like Verteil Technologies, Serko, and more, have also began to utilize their own NDC Exchange program.

The concept of this article is totally new to me. Air travel contributes at least three percent of global greenhouse gases and it is still rising. However, it is really good to know that there are certain airlines begin to pay attention on this issue. Dutch airline nowdays has used recyceled cooking oil(biofuel) to power planes. In fact, the plane had a 50-50 mix of biofuel and regular jet fuel in one of its four engines, which help cut carbon emission making by the planes while also help reduce nagative impact on biodiversity and food supply. In a word, KLM airline really shows a model of "green airline".

The International Air Transport Associate (IATA) at their annual general meeting in Beijing have had enough with the outdated Global Distribution Systems technology. The new Director General Tony Tyler indicated that in the 70's the system was cutting edge technology expanding distribution for airlines but years later the technology lacks innovation and must be brought up to date with airline product differentiation. This can be done by adopting new standards through XML messaging schema. Farelogix has donated XML through Open Axis, an organization that promotes the XML technology for linking airlines with distributors, similar to the technology that American airlines has been using. IATA indicates that this year they will define the foundation standards in partnership with the GDSs, a necessary progression.

This GDS allows over 300 major airlines to get connected with thousands of points of Sale and this platform, consisted by only 3 major ticket distributors known as a GDS other than the airline website. airlines are paying around $7 billion dollars per year for using GDSs. This is a huge amount and consumers have to pay this.  But at this moment, GDS is still needed as a neutral technology platform especially for small travel agencies.  

Chang, Great Post! Technology continues to advance daily, with new technological advances we will be able to book airline tickets different ways and the need for GDS will continue to reduce. Southwest Airlines has been able to maintain cost by the limited involvement the company has with GDS's. Hopefully by decreasing GDS's cost, we will be able to afford cheaper Airlines tickets with other carriers (http://blog.compete.com/2011/01/26/american%E2%80%99s-gds-gamble/).

All of the big three global distribution systems were still expanding as well as increasing productivity and revenue as of June 2014. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport have each made significant moves in the hospitality industry, although primarily for airlines. Amadeus is by far the largest and currently most successful GDS with the highest profit, booking volume, and market share (air travel). As of 2014 Southwest airlines was their biggest client, but they provide GDS services and access to over 100 other airlines as well. Sabre is second best to Amadeus. The company elected to go public in 2014 and since then their billable bookings, booking share and growth have all increased modestly. During the same year they gained American airlines, newly reformed at the time, as a client. Presently, the company expects continued improvement in revenue. Travelport has made the decision not to compete directly with Amadeus or Sabre in that they have chosen not to provide "full passenger services systems to airline on a multi-host basis." However the company is still working closely with Delta airlines and researching "add-on" features with their main focus being the continued growth of "beyond air" activities. Honestly, I was shocked that Amadeus is the largest and most successful GDS. I truly expected it to be Sabre. This belief was based on what I have personally experienced: every OTA I have used required a link to the Sabre GDS, but I can only recall one that required one to the Amadeus GDS. After reading the chapter 8 of D.V. Tesone's "Hospitality Information Systems and E-Commerce, along with the research report from our discussion forum I have changed my paradigm. Regardless, GDSs are still used widely in the hospitality industry. Different segments of the market prefer to book in different ways: via offline Travel Agents, OTAs, hotel websites or on the phone. Those that use either form of TA are using a GDS.

Leisure guests tend to book for themselves with rare exceptions including some forms of international travel and cruise travel. These guests use OTAs or intermediaries such as Travelocity (Owned by a GDS company) or TravelZoo. In the case of TravelZoo, a guest uses the TravelZoo website to access information such as availability and pricing that TravelZoo pulls from a GDS before making a selection and processing a transaction. On the other hand, business and corporate travelers are more likely to use an offline TA. An offline TA is better equipped to meet the needs of a customer whom is travelling for business. Offline TAs require less information when booking a hotel room then an OTA does, making it simple for a secretary to book the travel arrangements for the guest. In addition, offline TAs can work easily with a hotel to make special accommodations. The hotel receives contact information for the travel agency that booked the stay in case clarifications on requests are needed. In conclusion, as long as either form of TA is in the market, a GDS will be necessary to streamline bookings and ensure that each TA has the correct pertinent information when making a booking or completing a transaction. As a result, as new OTA options or hospitality enterprises enter the market GDSs are continuing to morph, merge and grow.

GDS systems are predominantly used by travel agencies to book both individual and corporate travel. By expanding their listings to Travelport and Amadeus, Southwest opens themselves up to increases in bookings but also potentially moving into better competition with larger airlines. Moving into these systems also allows them to offer further NDC enabled content, such as fare bundles and checked bags, helping to build even more bookings.

Southwest has always been on the outskirts when it comes to the top airlines. The "big three" are known as American, Delta and United. In order for Southwest to stay in the game, they are providing full content in Amadeus and Travelport systems. Amadeus is known for its European market and Travelport is known for its US market. Southwest already belongs to Sabre, which is also a US market. However, "those offerings will both complement and exceed Southwest's current limited-content availability on Sabre" (Silk). Henry Hartveldt states that "given Sabre's leading presence in the U.S. market, Southwest will elevate its participation in the Sabre GDS as well" (Silk). Of course, by only belonging to one GDS presence, Southwest was not able to compete with the big three, however, now Southwest is back in the game. In order to sell your tickets, you must be available in the channels that customers prefer to use. Southwest realized that "they had to go down that path or be left behind" (Silk). Vlitas believes that "Southwest's broader entry into the GDSs will result in the legacy carriers boosting the incentives they offer corporate and leisure agencies" (Silk). Other airlines may fear more GDS entries from other airlines, however, it is clear that GDS is here to stay.

This article looks at GDS and GUI systems and gives a holistic viewpoint of performance, positives and negatives, and what type of agencies can utilize each system. I felt that the more complicated system and its requirements for agency users to have and understanding of coding, made the GUI system more likely to have a higher utilization in the future.

The article delves into the importance of GDSs and travel agents along with the controversy surrounding their evolution as airlines are trying to encourage more direct bookings to make more profits and avoid paying commission to travel agents.

This article goes into detail about GDS's, the history of GDS's, and if travel agents actually need to use them. The article first explains what a GDS system is, a brief description stating "Global Distribution System (GDS) is a travel agent's motherboard for booking airline tickets and other sorts of travel goodies (like hotel and car)". The article then quickly goes into a brief history of the GDS. GDS was created by America Airlines in 1946, making it easier to check inventory for vendors, though it would still take some time for this technology to reach the travel agents. "Travel agents would need to call the airline's booking center, who would then contact one of their CRS operators, then relay the results to the travel agent over the phone (literally, like playing telephone). It took a lot of people power to book a single airline ticket". We then take a turn, and learn about the usability of a GDS, and that it's quite low. GDS's are not user-friendly, but sadly sometimes a necessity for certain types of travel agents. These types mostly being the ones who book lots of corporate travel arrangements. Lastly, the article discusses if a GDS is right for your business, and if you decide it's not, how to go about booking things without it.

In 2007, in the last round of GDS negotiations; American Airlines and Delta Airlines warned that they will pull out Of major GDS if they didn't get to have their way. American Airlines threaten once again to pull out, due to other Airlines pushing messages; stating that "the airline-GDS business model is broken and must change, leading up to negotiations next year". GDS seems to spite Airlines by lowering the travel agents incentive fees, because the Airlines lowered their fee that they pay out to GDS that year. JetBlue's vice president mentioned how much the industry took baby steps in the last sets of negotiation. There is a disturbance between the travel agents and JetBlue, in this situation. JetBlue was making profits off GDS, but at the same time GDS is releasing flight seats to travel agents; that don't need help to be filled. Therefore travel agents are making more profits because they are receiving these seats at a higher distribution cost. There are also concerns among the Airlines about the GDS financial model that have been broken, and needed to be fixed. The engineer that is over this, stated that it will be fined tuned; and things will adjust. My observation with this entire article is that the Airlines that were mentioned are money hungry, and competitive with wanting their own way. They are concerned about the GDS; because travel agents are reaping many benefits that they think only should be offered to them in regards to the distribution cost. It seems, like the Airlines just want to be in control of everything. They have to accept that many people purchase through third parties and don't directly go on their websites.

As mentioned in the article the GDS model should be examined based on current trend. American Airline now is directing clients to its direct connect site so all parties need to come together and negotiate in a way that will be beneficial to all including the consumer. It was interesting to read in the article that even though JetBlue is a low cost airline it saw benefit for corporate travelling through GDS.

This article discusses the relationship between airlines and GDS corporations.  airlines are going a different route to drive customers to book direct by tacking on additional fees to consumers for using the booking sources.  This came as a surprise to the GDS corporations and they have since been trying to work together with certain airlines to have the fee waived for using their site ie: expedia.  With so many add on options when booking flights, such as baggage, seat upgrades, and in flight entertainment, many GDS companies are working with airlines to offer bulk packaging on their sites as well to provide a bump in revenue for both industries.  If both industries continue to maintain a good working relationship the future will be bright for them. 

This article discusses how Google Flights has become a threat to global distribution systems, such as Sabre. Google Flights allows airlines to market directly to travelers and keep more of the fare. Sabre, on the other hand, has been charging airlines fees for their services. This contrast has changed how airlines utilize global distribution systems, and Google Flights could ultimately replace GDS's like Sabre.