COULD agents find
themselves working across
multiple platforms as more
airlines discourage GDS
bookings?
A year and a half since
Lufthansa introduced its
direct booking platform,
Direct Connect, the
airline claims better-thanexpected
uptake and
predicts other airlines will
follow suit.
According to a recent
Skift report, more carriers
could launch similar
moves to encourage direct
booking and International
Airlines Group (IAG), parent
company of British Airways
and Iberia, will be first in
line to do so. Willie Walsh,
ceo of IAG, said while
there was a role for GDSs,
the pricing model didn’t
work for the airline looking
ahead. “We are looking
to negotiate a change to
that,” he said.
“I have always said that
Lufthansa was the first
and won’t be the last,”
says Marco Ciocchetti,
ceo of XL Travel. But
many agents, like Marco,
still favour the GDS. He
says the only difference
between Direct Connect
and the GDS is the
surcharge, which doesn’t
affect agents as it is
being absorbed by the
client. He says it will
create a problem if and
when Lufthansa doesn’t
release all of its inventory
to the GDS.
“Bookings made through
the agency GDS channel
provide a much higher
average value per ticket
to the airline than those
it generates through its
own website and direct
channels. Furthermore,
these direct airline
channels still come with
high customer acquisition
costs and tend to be
much less effective
outside the airline’s
home territory where
their brands are less well
known,” says Siobhan
McCarthy, Travelport’s
senior manager, corporate
communications, Europe,
Middle East, Africa and
South Asia. She says
airlines rely heavily on
GDSs for managing
changes, ticket re-issues,
additions to bookings, the
purchase and marketing
of ancillaries and fare
families and so on.
Meanwhile, André
Schulz, gm Southern
Africa of Lufthansa
Group, says the airline has
had fruitful discussions
about potential Direct
Connect partnerships in
South Africa.
“The major long-term
benefit of Direct
Connect will be content
differentiation, meaning
specific sales promotions
or discounted ancillary
products will be displayed
with preference via the
Direct Connect distribution
channel.”
In the meantime, Marco
says XL Travel is analysing
various solutions that
allow consultants to
work on one platform
that aggregates content
from different suppliers,
including the
GDS.
