Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, is to seek alternative distribution channels to those provided by the four leading GDSs.
A statement by the Alliance which represents 18 airlines said a “combination of market deregulation and new technology has now created the right scenario in which the so called GDS new entrants or GNEs are becoming real alternatives.”
Jaan Albrecht, ceo of Star, said: “With an economic environment in which airlines are continually forced to cut costs, special attention needs to be paid to those items which have shown a continual increase. GDS fees definitely fall into this category.”
Mr Albrecht said his members, excluding newcomer Swiss and SAA, paid around $2bn a year in GDS fees. In switching to an alternative distribution channel, there was a “definite potential” to reduce these charges.
The GNEs were invited to demonstrate their capabilities at a recent Star workshop.
Star will now issue a single Request for Information (RFI) this month to the GNEs so it can establish a “standard.” It will also further examine the GNEs' abilities with the aim of drawing up a single strategy for selecting GNE partners.
The initiative to seek alternative channels has been led by Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, SIA and United. Star believes that GNEs can provide services which current GDSs can not and which would “offer tailor-made solutions for international business travellers.”
Mr Albrecht said it was the Alliance's aim “to finalise the GNE selection by the end of the year.”
* Star Alliance also announced that at its bi-annual meeting in Kyoto, Japan, the board unanimously accepted the membership application of Swiss. Christoph Franz, ceo of Swiss, said joining Star was a “milestone” for his airline. With the imminent arrival of South African Airways, Star will have 18 members.
* Lufthansa said after the takeover of Swiss, it now held a 96% stake in the carrier through its Swiss-based company AirTrust.