Face to Face: Armin Meier, Chief Commercial Officer, Travelport GDS
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1) GDS’ are experiencing a downturn, with Travelport recently reporting year-on-year declines in second quarter profits. What is the outlook for the second half of the year?
Despite the unsettled economic conditions, Travelport’s GDS business achieved credible financial results for the second quarter of US$515 million in net revenue and US$167 million in EBITDA. Whilst total Travelport segments for the second quarter tracked 15% lower compared to the previous year, they represented a small improvement from the first quarter of 2009. Volume declines were offset by higher yield per segment compared to the same period in 2008, driven mainly by operational efficiencies and favourable currencies.
We would like 2009 to be a year of two halves with a stronger business performance in the next six months. However, we are seeing few signs of any pronounced economic recovery.
2) How are Travelport’s products and services able to help your partners through this difficult time, and what further developments are you making to add value to your clients?
Interestingly, a recent Travelport survey revealed that travel agents in the Asia Pacific region allocated just 2% of their budget to GDS costs, illustrating the cost effectiveness of this technology.
But ultimately, the challenge for all GDS providers is to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world. This means meeting supplier and customers’ needs in processing and presenting data and adding value to their business or transaction. An example of this is Travelport’s strategic investment in a payment and solutions joint venture, eNett, tailored specifically to the travel industry. eNett’s automated payments and settlement products for air and non-air transactions also caters for increasingly common forms of payment, such as debit cards.
3) At a time when travel companies are increasingly scrutinising their operations, have you noticed increased demand for Travelport’s Data Intelligence products?
Like other global businesses, travel companies are scrutinising and monitoring their businesses more closely. Philippine Airlines’ deployment of Travelport Rapid Reprice
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