Expedia's Egencia corporate travel unit "bypasses the traditional GDS channel" to get enhanced features and functionality from Southwest Airlines, the carrier says.
Under a new agreement, Egencia customer service agents and its online booking tool now get "direct access" to the airline's fares and last seat inventory; booking and ticketing functionality supporting Southwest Rapid Rewards numbers, and the ability to cancel and exchange reservations, the companies say.
“The content agreement with Egencia is in line with the content agreements that we have previously announced with Concur and Rearden Commerce," says Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King. "This agreement bypasses the traditional GDS channel and allows us to work directly with Egencia.”
Egencia continues to access Southwest through Sabre, but with the new agreement Egencia clients have the option of accessing Southwest directly, as well, King says.
King declined to detail the commercial model of the direct-to-Southwest option, but presumably such access doesn't come for free to Egencia or its clients.
Sonia Reid, an Egencia spokeswoman, points to what might be described as a hybrid approach. Reid says:
We entered into this agreement with Southwest in order to satisfy the needs of our mutual clients. Egencia has been booking Southwest via Sabre and will continue to do so, but those clients who have corporate agreements with Southwest have only been able to access that content directly via Southwest, which meant that those bookings were not integrated into our reporting and our clients could not track them. This agreement will allow us to integrate those bookings into our reporting package and provide our clients with increased choice, management and visibility.
"Direct-connect" is a hot-button issues for airlines, online and traditional travel agencies, and global distribution systems, including Sabre, which is Expedia's primary GDS.
Southwest plays by its own rules in distribution, and this agreement shows that Expedia and Egencia will be pragmatic about direct-connect and GDS relationships when the situation warrants it.
The new agreement doesn't involve Expedia.com, which like other online travel agencies, has no access to Southwest's flights and schedules.
But, there is another direct-connect milestone approaching.
American Airlines and Expedia in April 2011 resolved a distribution dispute by agreeing that the two would establish a direct-connect relationship of sorts within a year. That deadline is few weeks away, although perhaps American Airlines' bankruptcy filing has put that scenario in doubt.
A spokesman for American Airlines says, "We continue to make progress with Expedia toward a direct-connect integration."
Expedia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the American Airlines and direct-connect question.
In other airline news, Expedia's recent content agreement with China Southern Airlines was a key one for both companies.
The agreement was China Southern's first global agreement with an OTA as it puts the airline's flights on Expedia's eLong; all Expedia sites in North America, Europe and Asia; Egencia and Hotwire.
And, the pact also was Expedia's first global pact of consequence with an airline that includes eLong and all Expedia-branded sites around the world.
"We have other global agreements in place that include eLong, but China Southern is the first with a Chinese domestic carrier, and it’s the largest Chinese airline, which is obviously way more impactful for serving eLong customers than an airline that’s available on eLong but doesn’t serve China," says Expedia spokeswoman Katie Deines Fourcin.
Expedia has been investing heavily in China and this China Southern agreement, coupled with Expedia's exclusive agreement and joint venture with AirAsia, should bring significant benefits in the region.