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Posted Oct 16, 2009

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Jay's picture
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TTG reported here last week that British travel management company execs were headed to Atlanta for "showdown" talks with Delta over discounts apparently available on its Web site which are not provided through global distribution systems. GDS firms "are all supposed to have signed full-content agreements with Delta, meaning agents should always have access to the cheapest tickets," the publication reported. Here's Delta's explanation…
"Delta is aware that in some non-U.S. locations, there can occasionally be discrepancies in the fares displayed in its worldwide delta.com site and the various GDSs. These occasional discrepancies are largely due to delta.com currently having U.S. based point-of sale logic, whereas the displays of the GDS are often localised to country where the GDS subscriber is located. Delta is currently evaluating implementing localised country logic in the near future."
The issue is reminiscent of complaints over the years about fare discrepancies between GDSs, which has been explained by the differences in timing and frequency of fare loads. Full content agreements are only as airtight as the technology to enable them.
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Re: Out Of Sync: Supplier.com And GDS Content

Posted Oct 16, 2009 by
Professor Sabena
Professor Sabena - Serious Commentary in a Frivolous World. The definition of full content is and always will be subject to interpretation. With fares a stated carve out - the distribution system basically has the ability for different fares to be made available to unique users and user groups. The delegation of Brits may be wasting their time if they think they are going to get ubiquitous content equally via their GDSs. The systems (GDS) just doesn't support that neither by design nor by execution. Note that this can work either for you or against you. The basic fact is that the results are usually dynamic and will vary. (And don't get me started on the use of cached fares and availability combos). I have conducted studies over many years and found that the variances in (available)prices on the same route has varied by channel and a host of other attributes. The complexity of the rules has resulted in almost logarithmic differences in calculations. The differences I like to highlight are the different ways airlines charge taxes. British Airways and Delta seem to be working to totally different sets of rules for Transatlantic travel. Just try it. Do a GDS (any one) and a web search for any cabin. And if you really want to see the differences try doing this for a Frequent Flyer ticket. In reality there are different states of the picture of what comprises "inventory". This is where I believe that the problem has always been there but the transparency of the web exposes the flaw of this belief that there is just one image that is consistent for airlines and their distribution partners. Chaps - get over it. Airlines DON'T want you to see the same thing. GDSs don't want you to see the same thing. And perhaps the strangest thing of all - actually the intermediaries - Corporate or Leisure don't want you (the consumer/punter)to see the same thing. So let's all hope the Brits enjoy their jolly (American translation = boondoggle) to Hotlanta. This will not change a thing. Cheers Timothy
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