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IATA working on a new global airline distribution standard

June 22, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Airlines are being "held back" by "clunky" global distribution systems (GDSs) used by travel agents, according to the head of the International Air Transport Association. IATA is working on a global standard for a "new distribution capability" that would change the way airlines work with travel agents.

IATA director general Tony Tyler told the Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels on Thursday: “The computer reservations systems of the 1970s put aviation decades ahead of other consumer industries. [But] the GDS model is now holding us back.

"New models are facilitating customer-friendly interaction in almost every online activity. But the GDS model is too clunky to adapt easily to fare unbundling and merchandising."

He said IATA is working on a global standard for a "new distribution capability" that would "revolutionise" sales. The standard will be presented at IATA's World Passenger Symposium in October.

Tyler said the aim was not to bypass GDSs. He said: “The GDSs have an important role to play in working with us to optimise this. . . The intention is to enable product differentiation through all distribution channels."

He said the way airlines' work with agents would inevitably change.

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