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…
[UPDATE, March 30, 2018: As expected, Travelport and Air France KLM reached a new “private channel” deal. So did Amadeus. As a result, users of the Amadeus and Travelport global distribution systems can enter into deals with the airline group to avoid the distribution surcharge Air France KLM plans to apply, effective April 1. According…
Lyft and Uber are feeling their way into the corporate market. Lyft had a rebate program. That’s done. Uber For Business had free and premium tiers. Now it’s all premium. Both fast-growing ride-hailing companies are aligning with corporate travel management companies but so far mostly for referrals. It’s clear these remain early days. Lyft has…
Amadeus put together a new unit focused on IATA’s New Distribution Capability. Called NDC-X, it’s led by Amadeus VP Gianni Pisanello. “We have been involved in NDC for quite some time,” Pisanello said. “We were the first to bring NDC into production in 2014, with United Airlines. We were waiting for a certain maturity in…
Since recreating the self-booking and ground tech company in 2016, Deem’s leadership was unabashed about taking on Concur. It’s hard to picture Deem having the same moxie without Tony D’Astolfo, an industry celebrity who served as face of the company and chief commercial officer. Deem this month replaced D’Astolfo with a business travel newbie. What went…
Airlines, tech companies and travel agencies can register with the International Air Transport Association for certification on the New Distribution Capability. Air France-KLM and Hogg Robinson Group are among the latest to do so. What does this certification mean? Mostly, it’s a sign. A carrier that has done what it takes to get registered (AA, BA, United) is…
Airlines have big plans for new distribution capabilities. Whether and when they become reality in corporate travel remain open questions. At the moment, it’s looking like a huge challenge. British Airways officials said they anticipated a “large chunk” of travel agencies would transition to NDC channels this year. Air France-KLM’s roadmap calls for new products…
End of content
End of content
