The Company Dime co-founder Jay Campbell last week interviewed Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert via videoconference. Among other issues, Ekert talked about supplier content fragmentation, global distribution system pricing, AI, technology modernization and, yes, NDC. A lightly edited transcript follows. Some travel managers look back fondly at a period a few years ago when it seemed…
Delta Air Lines during a Thursday virtual meeting named the tech partners it would work with on a customer service-oriented distribution strategy based on IATA’s New Distribution Capability protocols. Accelya, ARC and Google will support Delta as it collaborates with corporate travel intermediaries on new distribution methods. The announcement comes as Delta’s agreement with Sabre…
Washington, D.C. — American Airlines agreed to use the ARC Corporate Intelligence tool for contract management. ARC CI launched with United Airlines in 2020 as an alternative to the market-leading Prism platform, owned by Sabre. An AA official did not comment on whether the airline would continue using Prism. AA signed on in December 2023,…
[UPDATE, April 23, 2024: American Airlines delayed new restrictions on how travelers can earn loyalty program points, to July 11 from May 1. The rules will affect some bookings through agencies AA does not qualify as “preferred.” According to a spokesperson, “This extension gives an opportunity for those agencies to complete the transition. We’ll continue…
Regardless of the allure, direct bookings with suppliers are out of bounds for most employee groups at two companies represented on a March 6 webinar hosted by Cerebri AI. Both firms mandate that bookings go through their designated travel management companies via counselors or the SAP Concur Travel booking tool. According to their travel managers,…
As some airlines build programs to offer trip data to corporate clients on re-accommodated travelers after flight disruptions, travel management company leaders want the market to know they have a lot to offer here. Christopherson Business Travel has not seen a change in its disruption management role. “The main change is that the frequency and…
In a Jan. 29 Business Travel News column, SAP Concur Travel president Charlie Sultan predicted that distribution changes would “disrupt” travel management company revenue streams and combine with tech investment pressures to prompt “further TMC consolidation.” He didn’t cover Concur’s role. Parent SAP considered buying CWT but decided against it last week, according to sources…
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