Emirates is not particularly known for having a major axe to grind in public against some of its industry partners.
Yet the president of Emirates, Tim Clark, is not very happy with the status quo in the world of airline distribution and says "there are too many parasites" taking value from the airline in order to support their own business models.
Speaking at the recent Aviation Festival in London, Clark believes there will be what he calls a "digital disruption group" in the future that will redesign the current platforms that handle distribution and digital services - an overhaul that will "streamline by up to 50% of what we do".
He adds:
"I have been banging the drum about the way we are - an industry constrained by the legacy distribution systems.
"I am not satisfied that the GDS systems of distribution on offer are fit for purpose in the next five or ten years, particularly in light of what has been going on in the digital world."
Whilst some watchers will note how this is just another example of an airline figurehead using a platform to question if the company should have to use a third party to help distribute its product, Clark's comments come as fellow GDS-critic Lufthansa predicts it is "just a question of time" before other carriers follow its lead in charging extra for bookings made through Travelport, Amadeus and Sabre.
There is no indication that Emirates will implement a similar strategy.
Yet Clark's comments at the event continue to illustrate that the current distribution model is either undervalued by seasoned airline bosses or there is a shift in thinking (something that seems to happen in cycles over the years, as many will note).
He says:
"The notion that we should have intermediaries accessing our range of products and charging us for the use of their service, it should probably be the other way around."
"It is incumbent upon us to create a process so that when someone thinks they want to fly somewhere they will think of the airline, so intermediaries no longer have a place."
The company says it is currently developing its own "digital retailing platform".
NB:Emirates A380 image via Pixabay.