Distribution

Scroll down to review The Company Dime‘s coverage of travel distribution.

The travel industry thrives on a complex network of channels connecting travelers with desired experiences. The Company Dime‘s travel distribution category delves into this intricate system, offering subscribers invaluable knowledge and insights. Our in-depth articles explore the various channels that constitute corporate travel distribution, both traditional and emerging.

Getting all the relevant, bookable inventory in front of business travelers is a never-ending challenge. Airlines, hotels and other suppliers constantly tinker with their products and pricing, and often favor direct distribution over third-party channels. That creates complexity in business travel technology.

Readers can expect thorough coverage of the relationships and dynamics between airlines, hotels, travel management companies, global distribution systems and other suppliers and intermediaries. We closely examine developments associated with the New Distribution Capability (NDC), direct booking initiatives and the rise of new entrants looking to disrupt legacy models.

Subscribers benefit from our scrutiny of the often-opaque world of distribution costs and revenue streams, including incentive payments, agency commissions and booking fees. We shed light on these essential commercial arrangements.

We also track the technological forces reshaping distribution, from the positioning of online booking tools to the potential of emerging solutions like artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual payment. Readers stay informed on innovations that could unlock efficiencies and improve the traveler experience.

Our coverage clarifies major industry debates, such as the relative merits of GDS and NDC content, and our Op Eds deliver provocative thought leadership from all corners of the industry. Contributor insights on timely issues — like rethinking travel management company commercial models — make for essential reading.

With a critical eye and a healthy dose of skepticism, The Company Dime delivers must-have intelligence for anyone seeking to understand the present and future of travel distribution.

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You get what you pay for, and most travel industry business news is free. We sell insight. Our mission is quality journalism for those interested in business travel services, expense management practices and travel industry change. Our features, exclusives and analysis equip business travel professionals with vital info for top performance.

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Amid Travelfusion Dispute, Ryanair Deals Directly With Concur

Europe’s largest airline, Ryanair, in mid-December announced a deal to directly distribute fares through SAP’s Concur Travel and TripLink. On top of an agreement implemented in May 2023 with Amadeus, and pre-existing participation with Sabre and Travelport, the arrangement positions the carrier to court frugal business travelers for its aggressive growth plans. Already a titan…

Dispatch 8

With cost savings from NDC “not turning out to be what it was meant to be,” Air France’s chief commercial officer last week lambasted American Airlines‘ distribution plan. “American Airlines is leading the way — they think they’re leading the way — in new distribution strategies,” said Angus Clarke during an Air France-KLM Group investor…

Blockskye’s Disruption Accelerates After Years In Stealth

Last week, American Express Global Business Travel’s CEO pointed to Blockskye as offering something “genuinely new.” He wasn’t the first leader in Amex’s orbit to recognize the emerging player. During a Skift event in September, Amex GBT chairman Greg O’Hara referenced, without naming all the names, PwC’s decision to move its North America travel program…

Notebook: The Beat Live

New York — First up on the agenda at The Beat Live here Tuesday was American Express Global Business Travel CEO Paul Abbott, interviewed by The Beat editor-in-chief Jay Boehmer. AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee followed with a keynote speech and then Scott Laurence, American Airlines SVP of partnerships and retailing, took a few questions. Highlights follow….

Travelport Gets $570 Million In Financing

[UPDATE, Jan. 3, 2024: Travelport announced completion of the financing.] Travelport said Monday that existing equity holders and lenders agreed to invest $570 million of “new equity financing.” Expected to close by year-end, the transaction would leave Travelport with a new ownership structure, “composed of Travelport’s existing equity and credit investors, including Elliott Investment Management,…

Notebook: Catch Up On Airline Distribution

The Global Business Travel Association’s New Jersey chapter on Nov. 9 hosted a webinar on airline distribution featuring JTB Business Travel, SAP Concur, Sabre and United Airlines. Moderated by The Company Dime‘s Jay Campbell, the discussion featured observations about the status of the New Distribution Capability, where it’s going, some of its challenges, what the…

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