If XML standards in the travel industry were a ballgame, this would be Bobblehead Day.
Well, consider that representatives from Travelport GDS, Sabre and Amadeus met with the Open Axis Group Tuesday to sort out whether the GDSs will join or collaborate with Open Axis.
The OpenAxis Group’s stated mission is to create XML distribution standards for its airline members, and the GDSs apparently are busy crafting their own standards for ancillary services.
Enter Farelogix.
Below is a Farelogix video, part of a looming Ask the Question series, featuring talking head and CEO Jim Davidson giving his take on what the GDSs are up to. He likens their efforts to a seemingly untenable scenario which would have the hotel industry endeavoring to create XML standards for the rental-car industry.
For context, you should know that Farelogix is an allied member of the Open Axis Group, which is licensing Farelogix XML schema as the foundation for the group’s development of its own XML standards.
Also, Farelogix, which was born as an alternative to GDS distribution, had a dispute with Sabre in which Sabre ended up terminating a developer’s agreement that Farelogix had with Sabre. The U.S. Dept. of Justice at one point was looking into the matter out of anticompetitive concerns.
And, the hard feelings between Sabre and Farelogix may also be raw for another reason.
American Airlines, for one, says it is beginning to offer travel agencies its ancillary services through Farelogix and if the GDSs want to access these services for their travel agency customers, then the GDSs would have to get them through Farelogix.
Now, that would be a turn of events.
Anyway, a Sabre spokeswoman says the GDSs’ meeting this week with Open Axis Group “went fine,” although no decisions have been made about future steps.
Open Axis Group Executive Director Jim Young characterizes the meeting with representatives from the three GDS companies “as a very productive conversation.”
Young says he perceived “real interest” from the GDS representatives, who were eager to learn more about what process Open Axis Group will use to establish standards.
Young says the GDSs pledged to provide more feedback about their potential involvement with the group at the end of August.
On the issue of whether the GDSs are developing their own XML standards for airlines, Young says they apparently haven’t reached a decision on what to do with the XML standard they are working on.
Still, from the tone of the Farelogix video, I’m not expecting things between the Open Axis Group and the GDSs to get all warm and fuzzy anytime soon.
The bigger question to ask is that these distribution standards (regardless of who created them) are about distributed sales.
In a world of metasearch, inspiration websites etc – what we really need is a set of standards for distributed marketing (where sales take place on the centralised supplier websites – be they airlines, hotel chains or tour operators)
Go on, ask that question. Ask that question!
Have to agree with you there Alex, but to quote Yosemite Sam, “Thems fightin’ words”. Distributed marketing fundamentally shifts the business model of the GDS, so they will not go down without a fight. What I find most amusing though is that ALL the GDS are the children of Airlines, so this is really just an overblown family dispute. I say we lock them all up in a room and no one leaves until they work it all out. Until then, no dessert for anyone.
Alex: If I understand you, you are asking for standards — you are?:) — that would enable airlines to “distribute” their services to intermediaries, but the transaction would take place on the airline website?
Or tour operators would distribute their wares to travel agencies and the bookings would take place on the tour operator websites?
Why “distribute” at all if you are looking for a direct booking?
I’m asking the question:)
At any rate, that’s definitely not what’s going on with airline XML standards, as you well know.
Hi Dennis
From reports, sounds like what Google are building though
This isn’t really “distribution” in terms that we currently use. Think of it this way. It would be a standard to describe the adverts that companies currently place.
Then inspiration websites, metasearch etc could carry those adverts and send traffic back to the supplier websites on a CPA basis. These adverts would contain rich data such as date, price, availability.
Would turn the travel industry into one big affiliate scheme, but would work great for consumers, would work great for suppliers and would work great for the BEST travel inspiration websites (who would now have a revenue stream that they could work from). Would be terrible for OTAs though !
Wow! That video makes me think this guy is an idiot. His comparisons – especially of car rental companies figuring out hotel standards – are completely off base.
Let’s “ASK THE QUESTION.” Who wants to buy services from a company run by this guy?
Michael: Instead of just getting personal and bashing someone, why don’t you articulate why you think the comparison is off-base?
By the way, a lot of major airlines in the U.S. and some of the largest global travel management companies are “idiotic” enough to buy services from “this guy.”