Superior content lures agents from GDS

CLIENT demands are
increasingly forcing agents
away from the GDS and on
to alternative online platforms.
“It seems that, instead of us
being able to issue more airlines
on the GDS, we’re able to issue
fewer,” says Angela McLoskey,
md of Sure Dynamic Travel. She
says there are many airlines, for
example many Chinese airlines,
on which South African agents are
simply not able to issue tickets.
The end result, she says, is that
agents are forced to go the route
of booking through sites like
Expedia or directly through the
airline’s site, which is not good
for the continuity of the booking.
Marco Cristofoli, md of Harvey
World Travel Southern Africa, says
there is no doubt that agents
are making increasing use of
online booking platforms like
Expedia, especially from a leisure
perspective, but is unsure that
this is due to shrinking content
on the GDS. “It also has to do
with the fact that online platforms
have greater content and
sometimes offer cheaper prices.”
A possible reason for this,
says Garth Wolff, ceo of the
eTravel Group, is that there is
a growing trend among airlines
toward shifting their content
away from the GDS. “Airlines
want to reduce that cost.” But he
adds: “Suppliers will receive a
significant amount of resistance
from agents, who loathe going
anywhere but the GDS.”
David Pegg, md of Sure Viva
Travels, agrees that airlines are
avoiding distributing their content
via the GDS in South Africa.
“They’re in business to make
money the same way we are and
airlines’ smart yield management
systems know how to manipulate
the sale of tickets across
different markets.”
Asked if there were now fewer
airlines available to SA agents
via the GDS than in the past,
Amadeus was unable to comment.
Travelport said it had recently
announced a multitude of deals
with African carriers such as
Fly Blue Crane, Air Namibia,
Mauritania Airlines as well as a
landmark agreement with low-cost
carrier Mango. “These recent
agreements are a testament to
the value that our airline partners
in the region see in Travelport’s
technology and merchandising
solution,” says Will Owen Hughes,
director, Air Commerce, Middle
East and Africa. Travelport now
has more than 160 airlines
live on this air merchandising
solution.