Travel distribution news from Travelport, Amadeus, Sabre, Abacus - January 2013

Product news, releases, projects, related analysis and more from the global distribution systems during January 2013 - all here, in one easy read.

More recent updates first:

Thursday 31 January 2013:

Sabre signs distribution deal with Norwegian. The carrier will make its fares, scheduels and inventory available to all Sabre-connected agents around the world. Ancilary services, including on-board meals and checked bags, will be pushed through the GDS as part of the multi-year agreement.
Pathway GDS plots distribution growth for holiday rental sector
Tnooz-WEX Webinar VIDEO: Success stories for e-payments in travel booking
IATA squares up to Sabre, demands unsealing of court documents from American Airlines case

Wednesday 30 January 2013:

Travelport in Saudi Arabian travel industry push. The programme is being run in conjunction with the Al Tayyar Travel Group as part of a three-year deal to provide skills training and develop the expertise of travel professionals in the kingdom. Travelport will also provide the Al Tayyar Travel Group with a number of technology products including the Smartpoint agency tool.
Agents in Australia and New Zealand handed new Travelport CCTE tool. CrossCheck Travel Enterprise allows agents in the two countries to manage clients, including fulfilment and financial services, from a single platform. The corporate and leisure trip-based system also integrates with Travelport Universal Desktop.

Tuesday 29 January 2013:

Travelport and Online Travel Training unite to resell GDS tutorials. UK-based OTT with 70,000 registered members will become an official retailer of Travelport's training modules. The partnership is being run in conjunction with the Travelport Academy and gives industry professionals and the general public access to detailed information and courses relating to Travelport's GDS services.
How last minute is last minute? Very last minute, it turns out!

Monday 28 January 2013:

Travelport and Scoot sign distribution agreement. The Singapore Airlines-owned low cost carrier will push its fares and inventory through the Galileo GDS, as well as using Travelport's E-Ticket Interchange system for online e-ticketing and interlining services. Scoot currently flies from Singapore to China, Australia, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan.
Amadeus finds disgruntled business travellers in state of the nation study
Big Data in travel: Rubber hitting the road, but only for some
Could technology-led Gen-Y throw a spanner in the business travel agenda?

Friday 25 January 2013:

Sabre and Park Hotel Group unite to push private label chain code. Sabre Hospitality was selected to implement the "PG" code for the chain, a method for agencies around the world connected to any GDS to gain access to its portfolio of properties and rates. The chain has hotels in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Japan.
Travelport completes Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group distribution connection. The group has implemented the Travelport Hotel XML Supplier Link system, giving 1,000 properties (including the Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Missoni chains) distribution through the Worldspan and Galileo GDSs. Connected agents will have access to the group's real-time rates, availability and rules.
European hotel prices – January to March 2013
Attack of the Clones – so big brands should rebel and fight back against less authentic startups

Thursday 24 January 2013:

Virgin Australia agrees full content deal with Travelport. The new partnership, which commences immediately, gives Travelport GDS-connected agents access to full published inventory, including public and private fares.
Lifestyle comparison: How do you stack up against the average business traveler? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Wednesday 23 January 2013:

Morning Star Travel agrees new technology package with Travelport. The Hong Kong-based agency will use Travelport for access to air, ground and accommodation content. The partnership is a multi-year extension and will cover the agent's offices in 14 locations in Hong Kong and Macau.
Open AXIS air distribution standards group taken over by ATPCO

Tuesday 22 January 2013:

Travelport launches Agentivity tool for customers in the Middle East and Africa. The platform includes a number of services including corporate data mailing, queue forwarding and access to booking data for corporate customers. Agentivity is a business intelligence tool developed by UK-based Inside Group.
Five travel APIs to beef up website user experience
Rough guide to Japanese online travel – opportunities and challenges for international and domestic players

Monday 21 January 2013:

Friday 18 January 2013:

Full content agreement between Travelport and American Airlines expires. It ended this week as the two companies continue to negotiate a deal. A note sent to customers says there is still no deal and that the GDS can no longer guarantee access to full content but that AA intends to continue "interrupted access". A similar statement from the airline confirms continued distribution saying: "While we continue to work toward a new agreement so long as American is not disadvantage by Travelport and Travelport displays American’s content in a fair and neutral manner".
Huntington Travel added to Travelport Rooms & More platform. The Canadian hotel consolidator will include 65,000 properties from its total portfolio of 120,000 to the system. The addition will bring Rooms & More's total database of offers up to 740,000 worldwide.
Travelport signs technology agreement with ATC Travel Management. The long-term partnership will see the corporate travel company integrate SmartPoint, e-Pricing and Rapid Reprice tools, as well as switching to the Apollo GDS for distribution services. The agency prevbiously used Sabre as its GDS provider.
The real NDC: Decoding the planned (r)evolution in airline distribution by IATA and airlines

Thursday 17 January 2013:

Sabre signs distribution deal with Royal Caribbean Cruises in Mexico. The multi-year agreement gives Sabre-connected agents in the country full access to the fares and schedules for the flagship brand, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.
Apple iTravel: So what happened to that?

Wednesday 16 January 2013:

Alitalia signs long term distribution agreement with Amadeus. The extension to the existing partnership sees Amadeus-connected agents given access to the Italian carrier's fares, schedules and inventory. Ancillary services made available to Italian agents have now been given to counterparts in Spain.
Amadeus named as one of top European investor in research and development. The company said it pumped in around Euro 350 million into R&D during 2011, an increase of 6.7% from the previous year. This figure is almost 13% of revenue at Amadeus.
History of the Internet (and a few travel milestones) [INFOGRAPHIC]
TripAdvisor tests hotel metasearch service – now the fun really begins
The total cost of travel technology [INFOGRAPHIC]

Tuesday 15 January 2013:

Amadeus launches Travel Office Manager Mobile for agents in Asia-Pacific. The system is a web-based management tool for agents to give them access to client details, supplier contracts and performance reports on the road. The tool is currently only available for Apple iOS devices.
Top tech companies fail to shine in social media engagement stakes

Monday 14 January 2013:

Sabre completes technology migration for Virgin Australia. "Reasonably well" is the reported line from Sabre officials following the Australian airlines move to Sabre for its new booking and reservation system. The switch took place over the weekend and was fronted by an army of Sabre and Virgin staff in Australia in case of problems. Virgin moved to Sabre from Accenture-backed Navitaire.
Cutting out the noise to get the full travel story – but now what do we call it?
American Express cuts deep in travel as digital revolution bites

Friday 11 January 2013:

Travelport appoints new commercial boss for the US. Tina Iglio will become vice president for sales in the country after moving over from her previous vice president of global marketing position. Reporting to managing director for the Americas, Scott Hyden, Iglio will be responsible for growing travel agency sales in the US. A Deloitte and Ericsson alum, she joined Travelport's marketing division in 2009 and fronted its brand, customer research and customer marketing programmes.
Air France-KLM signs Amadeus, reveals its distribution cards

Thursday 10 January 2013:

Amadeus signs partnership with Institute of Travel and Tourism. The two-year deal commencing immediately will see the UK-focused travel organisation work with Amadeus to help members "gain a current and in-depth understanding of the changing role that travel technology increasingly plays in our daily lives". It is the first time the ITT has agreed an exclusive partnership with a travel technology firm.
The travel industry can be absurd, so don’t add to the suck factor – do something crazy instead
Backpackers rejoice: The Holy Grail of multi-stop RTW flights is here?
Travel startups: ditch the consumer traction and focus on data

Tuesday 8 January 2013:

Copa Airlines signs distribution agreement with Travelport. The multi-year agreement gives Galileo and Worldspan-connected agents access to the carrier's full range of fares and inventory. Merchandising services are included in the deal. Copa Airlines and sister brand Copa Airlines Colombia fly to over 60 destinations in 29 countries in the Americas.
Deregulation of the air distribution in China and how agents can capitalise
Reality check: Consumers not ready for mobile wallets
Google reaches a truce with US regulators on antitrust probe, dealing FairSearch a blow

Thursday 3 January 2013:

Abacus brings Regent Airways into distribution fold. The two-year deal is the first GDS agreement for the airline which operates for the time being solely in Bangladesh, with plans to extend to destinations in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Nepal. The exclusive agreement will give agents connected to the Abacus network the ability to access full fares and inventory with the carrier.
The ultimate guide to airline customer relationship management and loyalty
Avis buys car sharing network Zipcar for $500 million

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