American Airlines and Sabre tension could threaten sea change, says expert
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The growing tension between American Airlines and Sabre threatens a sea-change in relations between airlines and global distribution services (GDSs), according to an industry expert. Janet Titterton, director at Collinson Latitude, a global provider of ancillary revenue products and services, believes that the story is already developing into one of the major travel industry news stories of 2011. “It’s no surprise that direct connection with the customer is such a big issue,” explained Titterton. “From an airline’s perspective, improving the quality and consistency of engagement with customers is a priority. Third-party bookings deny the airline visibility of the wider customer spend. Airlines need to understand their customers’ lifestyles in order to offer targeted benefits packages reaching beyond the direct travel service itself. In an increasingly competitive market and a challenging economic environment, ancillary revenues are vital and it is extremely likely that the days when airlines simply sold seats are coming to an end.”
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