travel management company

Lufthansa-Sabre Announcement Sounds Like A Start But Begs Questions

An agreement announced this week between Lufthansa Group and Sabre, parties with a contentious and litigious shared history, implied a mutually beneficial path forward for airlines and global distribution systems. However, there are many unknowns, and not everyone will be a winner. If Lufthansa and Sabre can agree on GDS distribution of ancillary services and…

Some Things Happened In Airline Distribution This Year, Part Two

There’s a line of thinking that says the pandemic is widening a gap between Amadeus and its key rivals, Sabre and Travelport. Not only was Amadeus already using more modern infrastructure, the theory says, but it also genuinely bought into XML-based distribution and related NDC protocols sooner. These factors position it best with airlines that…

Client Fees As A Percentage Of The Airfare? National Travel Is Trying It

National Travel’s Ted Lawson has read the industry headlines and considered the arguments. His 40-plus years in travel management (after seven in air travel and lodging) and focus on customer service tell him that it’s time for a somewhat retro client pricing model: 3.x percent of the airfare. The x depends on online adoption. “This…

Some Things Happened In Airline Distribution This Year, Part One

With reaction, assessment and recovery on their minds, corporate travel professionals understandably did not focus closely on airline distribution developments this year. Inasmuch as they did, for some, it was a question of how the relevant systems could help the response to the pandemic — or not. There’s some debate about how soon the usually…

AmTrav Partnership With Journera Starts With Knowing When Corporate Travelers Board The Plane (Audio)

[UPDATE, Jan. 13, 2023: This work did not proceed. We published newer info here.”] AmTrav Corporate Travel agreed to start using Journera’s data exchange platform. It is the first travel management company to do so. Founded in 2015 and launched a year later, Journera wants to be the glue in an interconnected travel ecosystem. It…

Corporate Travel Buyers On What They Need From TMCs, How They’re Working With Suppliers And Why Policies Changed

According to a pair of travel managers who recently completed RFPs for travel management company services, the traveler experience was a bigger priority than ever before. That stands to reason during a pandemic that is focusing organizations’ attention on their people. Other components of a TMC’s offering that always were important to buyers, like content…

Industry Pros Dispute Travel Management Company Viability Data That Cited Dun And Bradstreet

Have you seen a chart floating around that cites Dun & Bradstreet for indications of potential travel management company failures? Has a business development manager or salesperson shared information that looks like intelligence but also smears the competition?  Be suspicious. Sure, business travel buyers and other industry constituents should be concerned about the future of…

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