We all learned in August that American Express and HRG separately agreed "in principle" to explore American Airlines' direct connect, but further details have been elusive. Comments made during AMR's earnings conference call on Wednesday weren't exactly revealing, but chief commercial officer Virasb Vahidi provided an update of sorts.
In response to
Monday's announcement about Expedia and American Airlines coming to terms on a Direct Connect solution to be powered by a GDS aggregation technology, at least
one commentator seems certain that GDS is not Travelport. But just because AA and Travelport are battling in court, and Travelport continues enticing
Orbitz away from the AA direct connection, does not mean Travelport is unable to support other distributors who want the AA pipe. In some ways, Travelport has been the GDS which is most open to cobbling together non-GDS content using unorthodox models. (See deals with Air Canada, easyJet and Southwest.)
HRG group distribution and technology director Bill Brindle this month commented on the challenges and opportunities for tablets in corporate travel, particularly as they become more enterprise-friendly.
The Beat is delighted to announce two distinguished industry executives confirmed to speak at The Beat
Live, Sept. 20-22 in Chicago. Headlining our travel business conference are Hogg Robinson chief executive David Radcliffe and Travelport GDS president and CEO Gordon Wilson.
Register today:
www.thebeat.travel/live
Wilson and Radcliffe are among the most influential executives in global corporate travel. Radcliffe will take questions from
The Beat's Jay Campbell in our live interview format, and Wilson will deliver a keynote speech with audience Q&A. Visit our registration page for more details on the agenda:
www.thebeat.travel/live
Register today. The Beat
Live will take place at the W Chicago City Center.
www.thebeat.travel/live
My old firm HRG has just
announced its results and I must say I am impressed. It seems they can and have managed without me quite well. And there was me thinking I was indispensable.
