MINNEAPOLIS -- Carlson Wagonlit Travel became the first traditional
travel agency to establish direct connections with airline
reservations systems, as it linked up with Continental, Delta and
United.
Robin Schleien, president of CWT North America, said the
technology is operational, providing fare information -- including
Web fares -- to travel agents and corporate travelers using CWT's
self-booking tool.
At the heart of the direct-connect technology is CWT Symphonie,
a reservations platform that is independent of the GDSs.
Some of the other mega agencies -- including TQ3 Travel
Solutions, American Express and WorldTravel BTI -- have developed
or are developing similar GDS-independent platforms, However, CWT
is the first to use such a platform to plug into the reservations
systems of airlines, circumventing the GDSs.
Carlson is using technology provided by Navitaire, a
Minneapolis-headquartered company that powers Web-based
reservations systems for several low-fare carriers, including
JetBlue, Virgin Blue, RyanAir and AirTran.
Although St.Louis-based TQ3 Travel Solutions is in a position to
forge ahead and make similar direct connections through its
GDS-independent platform, ProView, the agency doesn't plan to do so
presently, said Richard Spradling, TQ3's chief information
officer.
"Our view is that the GDS is the best source of information,
even though there's an issue with low-fare carriers," Spradling
said. "The investment has been made [in GDS technology], and it's
in place. The suppliers should leverage that investment."
Spradling added that maintaining separate channels is too
expensive and that Sabre and Galileo already have made moves to
lower distribution costs for airlines through the Direct Connect
Availability and Preferred Fares Select programs, respectively.
As a key part of its strategy, online agency Orbitz established
direct connections to some of its airline owners last year.
To contact Jerry Limone, send e-mail to [email protected].