The fate of direct connect and the evolution of travel distribution

September 22, 2011 | Online Travel

Direct connect falls short of what travel managers want and need, says BTC. They need the ability to comparison shop in whatever purchasing environment they choose to use, which means they are not willing to abandon well established channels in favor of direct connect, especially if it increases costs.

Of interest in this regard, is a survey this year of 244 business travel buyers by the GBTA Foundation that found that 89% expect an increase in travel costs if the airline industry moves to a direct connect model that bypasses the existing travel distribution system.

In the long run, any approach that a given airline or company seeks to introduce to the managed travel industry segment will succeed or fail depending on whether it provides value to the customer. In the case of airlines, the customer is the professional travel manager charged with representing the interests of his or her corporate, university or government organisation in the purchasing of significant volumes of commercial air transportation services as well as the travelers whom they look after.

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