GDS news from Travelport, Amadeus, Sabre, Abacus - May 2012

Product news, releases, projects and more from the global distribution systems during May 2012 – all here, in one easy read.

More recent updates first:

Thursday 31 May 2012:

Sabre Holdings becomes first travel technology business to sign a Code of Conduct against child exploitation. As a member of the organisation, driven by the Swiss government and the private sector, and supported by Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking, Sabre will develop ways of highlighting the aims of the Code, including training for staff as well as raising awareness through its various B2B and B2C products.
Travelport appoints country manager for Ireland. Reporting to regional director for UK & Ireland, Simon Ferguson, former key account manager Sinead Reilly will be responsible for leading the local team in Ireland and spearhead use of its CruiseNet and SmartpointApp services. Reilly replaces outgoing country manager Dave Walsh.
Travelport creates new regional hub office in Dubai. The facility in Media City will act as the corporate headquarters for Travelport for the Middle East and Africa, under the stewardship of president and MD for the region, Rabih Saab. Travelport was previously located in offices in Al Barsha and Dubai Silicon Oasis.
What is driving the online impulse hotel buyer? [INFOGRAPHIC]
How artificial intelligence could create a personalised and perfect travel service

Wednesday 30 May 2012:

Sabre-American Airlines case delayed. The courtroom and commercial showdown between American Airlines and Sabre have been delayed for a few more months now that the start of the state antitrust trial in Texas, which was initiated by the airline, has been extended until October 3. The previous schedule had the trial starting August 6. The two parties’ GDS agreement remains in place until 14 days after the trial concludes, states American Airlines, adding that it “looks forward to pursing our legal rights and seeking compensation for the harm done to our company as a result of Sabre’s [alleged] antitrust law violations”. And, Chris Kroeger, Sabre’s senior vice president of marketing, sent a update to travel agency and corporate customers stating that litigation is a “wasteful process,” but Sabre will “mount a vigorous defense”.
GermanWings agrees new long term distribution agreement with Sabre Travel Network. The deal sees Sabre-connected agents given access to fares, schedules and availability on the carrier. Sabre says tickets sold via the GDS will come with one piece of luggage and one free snack on-board.
Amadeus One given a boost with Atlas Travel deal. The partnership sees the travel management company use the full suite of the One platform and will begin in the fourth quarter of 2012. Atlas currently works with more than 500 corporations around the world and also has around 15,000 leisure travellers using its services.
Singapore-based new low cost carrier Scoot signs distribution package with Abacus. The multi-year deal, the first for a GDS and the fledgeling airline, sees all Abacus-connected agents across Asia-Pacific gain full access to Scoot’s fares and inventory from July 2012. Scoot’s maiden flight runs from Singapore to Sydney on June 4 this year, with other Australian destinations opening up shortly after.
Sabre Travel Network agrees distribution deal with Russian carrier VIM Avia. The full-content agreement allows Sabre-connected agents to search and book all seats and fare classes on the Moscow-based carrier. The airline was launched in 2000 and flies to Russian domestic destinations as well as Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
How to pre-open a hotel [Part Two of Two - distribution, revenue management, sales]
Amadeus Olympics data reveals visitor surge from the BRIC countries
The good, the bad and the ugly – the truth about payments for tourism businesses
Social seating with a twist as Satisfly puts airlines in control, seeks patents

Tuesday 29 May 2012:

Sabre Hospitality Solutions secures distribution services agreement from Hotel Okura. The chain of 25 member hotels (and other JAL Hotels) will use Sabre’s SynXis reservation system for connections to the GDS, online travel agencies and other third party websites. Okura properties are located throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
Amadeus signs deal with Mongolian Airlines Group for distribution and technology services. The agreement sees Amadeus-c0nnected agents given access to the carrier’s fares and inventory, as well as using the Amadeus Altea system and e-Retail online booking engine.
Abacus opens new offices in India. The new facilities will be in Bangalore and Mumbai and will officially open on May 31 this year. The company previously ran its Indian operations from one office in Mumbai.
Tnooz-Amadeus FREE webinar: Rethinking airports for future connected travelers
I love the smell of startups in the morning – travel and the making of Apocalypse Now

Monday 28 May 2012:

Sabre Travel Network and Saudi Arabian Airlines extend distribution agreement. The fare distribution partnership gives 350,000 Sabre-connected agents to tickets, seats and fare classes. The carrier has also opted to upgrade the “ level of connectivity with Sabre, giving traditional and online travel agencies improved access to fares and inventory, and helping drive its international expansion,” the pair claim.
Abacus claims more than 20,000 across Asia-Pacific are now able to access its net fares programme through the Abacus SmartPrice system. The tool has over five million net fares available, an increase of 30% year-on-year, with 900+ airlines and wholesalers taking part.
Sabre to give agency contracts to antitrust probe, Travelport, AA, US Airways and Orbitz
Fill ya boots, screenscapers – Ryanair has removed its reCAPTCHA tool

Friday 25 May 2012:

Avianca and TACA Airlines sign distribution and technology partnership with Travelport. The multi-year content agreement sees Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo-connected agents given access to the pair’s publicly available fares and inventory. Travelport Rapid Reprice, a ticketing system for airline passengers, is also included as part of the agreement.
Aah, those were the days – starting an online travel brand in 2002 compared to 2012
So you think you found the lowest airfare? Guess again
SAS latest to migrate to OpenJaw t-Retail platform

Thursday 24 May 2012:

Travelport and Digital Visitor sign social media partnership. The deal sees Travelport’s UK travel agency and tour operator customers referred to Digital Visitor for their “social media content management and broadcast tools”. Such customers will be offered preferential rates as a result.
Hacker-hot, data deep: How Gen Z code literacy could transform travel-tech

Wednesday 23 May 2012:

Travelport gets ratings upgrade from Standard and Poor’s. The credit agency says it has altered its position from B to B+ on the “first-lien senior secured debt facility” taken by Travelport LLC, a subsidiary of Travelport Holdings. Recent moves by Travelport on refinancing “has a positive impact on recovery prospects for these facilities”, S&P says. S&P and Moody’s both downgraded Travelport credit rating last summer at the height of worries over its financial affairs ahead a restructuring of its loans.
Seamless passage coming to Toulouse Airport via NFC trial

Tuesday 22 May 2012:

Travelodge inks partnership with Sabre Travel Network. Agents will be able to search and book more than 475 Travelodge hotels in the UK and Ireland as party of the deal. The addition of the Travelodge properties brings the total number of hotels on the Sabre system to more than 100,000 in in 200 countries, including 300 chains.
Lao Central Airlines strikes distribution package with Amadeus. Fares, both domestic and international, plus schedules and inventory from the recently launched airline will be available to Amadeus-connected agents around the world. Amadeus is also working with LCA to develop its e-ticking technology.
Sabre and EasyJet expand distribution agreement. The deal sees agents connected to the Sabre given access to fares through the GDS, alongside plans to give business travellers via travel management companies the ability to select seats on selected routes on the carrier’s network.
Collaboration, state help and determination: enough to push travel technology ahead in Africa?

Monday 21 May 2012:

Amadeus secures Euro 200 million loan from European Investment Bank. The loan is available from May 24 2012 and is expected to mature in nine years. The funds, put forward in two tranches of Euro 150 million and Euro 50 million, will be used by Amadeus to finance its research and development programme between now and 2014. The company says it has invested around Euro 2 billion in R&D between 2004 and 2011, 13.4% of its overall revenues.
Why affiliate deals on online travel agencies are making hotels angry
European hotel prices – May to July 2012

Wednesday 17 May 2012:

Amadeus and OAG agree deal to provide enhanced data for airline schedules. Under the agreement, OAG will supply Amadeus with a daily feed of schedule data files, a service aimed at providing travel websites, retail agents and travel management companies with accurate information as to the state of flights and bookings worldwide.
Travelport unites with Nor1 for distribution and revenue partnership. The deals sees hotels on the Nor1 eStandby Upgrade platform pushed into services operated by Travelport. Offers on eStandby Upgrade will be available through itinerary emails and Travelport’s ViewTrip system. “Participating properties confirm the pay-for-upgrade requests guests make at check-in and are able to instantly boost their bottom line revenue on top of their existing reservations,” Travelport says.
KDS heralds killer application for business travel
How to unlock Big Data to make it big in value for the travel industry
Dear Hoteliers, Please finally become more business minded. All the best, The Industry x

Tuesday 15 May 2012:

New vice president unveiled for Sabre Travel Network in Western Europe. Based in London, Stephane Aita will report to Harald Eisenaecher, vice president EMEA for Sabre Travel Network when he takes up the role from June 1 2012. Aita was most recently global services director EMEA for Oracle and has held senior positions at Sun Microsystems and Alcetel. He also previously co-founded mobile and VOIP tech company Yfone.
THack returns to London – time for developers to show off their ideas and creativity in travel
Room Key founders share spotlight in Travelocity white-label deal
Mapping out the customer journey for booking trips using marketing and time travel
Survey: US adults doing mobile check-ins more than doubled
Wright Express acquires UK prepaid solutions provider
Cheapflights bans clumsy mobile handoffs

Friday 11 May 2012:

Travelport gives leg-up to Wild Discovery. The Lebanon-based travel retailer has used Galileo Web Services to launch its MouseTrotter service, its new online search and booking platform. The site uses the Galileo GDS for content in a wider bid to compliment Wild Discovery’s existing offline agency branches with its first presence on the web.
Travelport gets more global in Asia and Africa
Sabre Hospitality brings all services under new hotel platform, device responsive tech in pipeline
Travelport first quarter 2012 results – at-a-glance summary
Amadeus and Expedia — typical dating relationship
Amadeus first quarter 2012 results – at-a-glance summary
TravelSky continues hotel outreach with Pegasus and Starwood connection
What do mobile business travellers want?

Monday 7 May 2012:

Travelport secures partnership with TheTrainLine. The deal allows Travelport Universal API-connected travel agencies to search and book rail product from the UK provided by TheTrainLine, as well as working together to allow other agents to access content on standard desktops. TheTrainLine is also looking to target new customers in North America and Australasia.
Cost and value of hotel marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
Travelport renews long technology and distribution partnership with Your Travel Center. The agreement with the Tzell Leaders Network-owned agency gives it access to Travelport GDS content including flights, hotels, car hire and cruise via both the Apollo and Worldspan platforms.
Yapta targets corporate travel with fare-savings tool

Friday 4 May 2012:

Upgrade by Sabre in the Red Workspace to give agents in the UK and Ireland better tools for selling car hire to customers. The development is in two parts: an agent can calculate the total cost of a car rental and up to four added extras, such as navigational equipment and seats for young children, when booking with Sixt; agents also booking Sixt or Europcar will now be able to calculate how much money they make from a booking with participating suppliers.
Abacus secures distribution deal to give its agents access to AirAsia Philippines fares and inventory. The carrier is a joint venture between AirAsia International and a group of Filipino Investors. It launched its first flights out of Pampanga in March 2012 with two domestic routes to Davao and Kalibo.
Local is the new black in travel search
When merchandising is no longer a slippery slope for ski operator
How TripAdvisor off-shoot Tingo could change travel AND retail forever
Amadeus secures two launch agencies for m-Power mobile travel app

Thursday 3 May 2012:

Kuoni and Travelport renew long-term distribution agreement. The tour operator will continue to Travelport as its GDS provider as well as integrating the new Universal API into what it calls “specific areas” of the business. The agent Galileo Desktop upgrade, Smartpoint App, is also included in the partnership covering a number of countries in Europe and Asia.
Warning: Big Data in travel and why People Not From These Parts could win
Travelport continues distribution sweep-up and buys Galileo Southern Africa
HP and airlines implement automated global tax feed
Mobile wake-up call for airlines

Tuesday 1 May 2012:

The Travelport Developer Network is now open for users in the Middle East. Originally launched in November 2011, independent software developers are invited to join as part of a wider initiative to create new platforms, applications and services for travel agencies in the region.
Sabre Travel Network is looking for entries to its first developer competition on the Sabre Red workspace. The best ten entries from startups, individual developers and established companies will be able to showcase their idea at the Sabre Red Appy show in Las Vegas in early-June. Each will vie for a cash price.
Dnata will be the first agency in the Middle East to join the Travelport Universal API programme. The company will be able to aggregate content and other travel services from multiple providers through a single connection and interface.
Irish agents now have the opportunity to book cruise trips via a new service from Travelport called Cruise Net. The tool, developed in conjunction with Scotland-based TravelTek, allows agents to search and book trips, find port and ship information including images, as well as access real-time negotiated rates from cruise operators.
Google repositions Hotel Finder atop organic search results
Shocking news: A la carte travel shopping is good for consumers
The future of in-flight entertainment
OpenJaw launches first customer on t-Retail platform