When Lufthansa Group in mid-2015 informed the market of a new distribution strategy, one stated objective was to lower associated costs. The company expects to prove wrong the skeptics and start achieving that by the end of 2018. Lufthansa’s financial reporting does not offer enough detail to completely validate progress, but there are indicators of short-term pain for… Read More »
According to published reports in Europe, Lufthansa Group on April 5 began discounting by 20 euros some short-haul economy-class roundtrip fares when booked through direct or NDC-enabled channels. This is on top of the 16 euro surcharge Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss currently apply on bookings through global distribution systems, effectively more than doubling the disadvantage in traditional, indirect… Read More »
The news that an activist investor took a stake in Travelport to push a possible sale of the company has analysts, consultants and industry leaders speculating about the possibilities. Could the GDS be broken up and sold to its two Western rivals? What about keeping it whole and selling to China-based TravelSky? Is there a wild-card buyer out… Read More »
Amadeus is reorganizing its travel agency and corporate business lines to focus on global customer sectors rather than geographies. Two of its more recognizable execs in North America are leaving. Amadeus SVP of travel channels Decius Valmorbida said the departures of North America COO Vic Pynn and chief marketing officer Scott Alvis, while “difficult” decisions, were natural outcomes of… Read More »
Well-funded startup Lola last week announced its Lola Works small business platform featuring reporting, team collaboration and policy and spending guidelines with “wiggle room.” The features could have some appeal, but Lola’s bigger challenges remain unresolved. One, how will it find customers? Two, can it compete for said customers without offering the airline that carries the most passengers in… Read More »
Purchased for $757 million in 2000, the GetThere corporate booking tool is hardly mentioned in Sabre’s annual reports. The TripCase mobile app isn’t mentioned at all. As usual, neither came up during this morning’s earnings conference call. Along with Sabre’s virtual payments offering, these products have bounced around inside Sabre and had four leaders in less than three… Read More »
Sabre said its previously announced chatbot has gone into pilot with Travel Services International USA. Using Microsoft technology, the chatbot can help travelers with self-service support requests, allowing agents focus on more complex needs, noted Sabre Studios director Chad Callaghan. TSI clients will reach a white-label version of the chatbot through Facebook Messenger or TSI’s mobile app. “Travelers… Read More »