MADRID -- Is Amadeus responding to pressure from agency subscribers
to include Web fares in the GDS?
TravelWeekly.com has been informed that Amadeus -- quietly --
struck a deal with at least one airline to increase the range of
fares available in the GDS.
When contacted, Amadeus marketing manager Owen Wild said he
could not comment on any specific deals, but said that "we will
continue to work with carriers to get as much content [as
possible]."
Wild's comment may not reveal much, but the fact that Amadeus
acknowledges that access to Web fares in the GDS is a hot-button
issue for agencies is significant.
In January, Kay Urban, Amadeus North America's president and CEO,
told TravelWeekly.com in an interview that "doing a Web-fare deal
is a short-term solution" and "not a correct strategy for us."
Wild stressed that Amadeus won't be cutting airline GDS fees
across the board in exchange for access to Web fares, a strategy
that has been employed by Sabre and Galileo.
Amadeus will continue to pursue its "value-based" pricing model,
in which Amadeus' GDS fees correlate with the value of an airline
ticket.
Last fall, when Amadeus announced it was implementing a new
pricing model, Amadeus said that it could charge airlines less for
Web bookings and more for international tickets or complex
itineraries booked by travel agents.
Wild said any deals that include more fare content will occur
within the framework of the value-based GDS pricing model.
To contact reporter Jerry Limone, send e-mail to [email protected].