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March 10, 2011
Unintended Consequences of Airline Direct Connect
The unintended consequences of airline direct connect adoption for the travel agency: improved productivity, reduced cost of operations and greater control of their destiny.
What? That can't be true. Direct connect is supposed to increase costs for all and cause massive loss of agency productivity. That's what we've been hearing, right? But what if that isn't true? What if, with adoption of some of the direct connects, the travel agency is instead the biggest beneficiary? How can this be?
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March 1, 2011
Ask the Question
Demanding transparency and being transparent are two different things. Ask the Question!
View Ask the Question |
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GUEST ARTICLE: Warning: Beware of Corporate Paralysis Over Airline Distribution
Here we are, just over a month after Sabre announced that it will remove American Airlines displays from the Sabre GDS in August 2011. That’s about six months from now, or 180 days from now, or 4,320 hours from now… In the general scheme of things, August is not really that far off. Even with the recent public “truce” between AA and Sabre, one has to wonder: what are those corporations, booking tools and TMCs who today depend on Sabre to book American Airlines going to do now in preparation for August?
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February 17, 2011
Ask the Question
What is with these deceptive copycat videos that tout the airlines as “public deceivers”? We ought to Ask the Question!
View Ask the Question #10 |
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Feb. 2, 2011
Ask the Question
The Air Canada and American Airlines direct connects use the same technology and the same XML standards from Open AXIS Group. So why does Travelport claim one is an "industry first" and the other "material inferior?" Ask the Question!
View Ask the Question #9 |
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Jan. 25, 2011
Ask the Question
Who are Travelport and Sabre really trying to "protect" by these actions? The Consumer, The Travel Agency, or Themselves? Really.... Ask the Question!
View Ask the Question #8 |
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Jan. 20, 2011
Sabre Vs. Direct Connect – The Iliad and The Odyssey
Oops! That's been done already. I meant to use this title:
Sabre vs Direct Connect - The Absurdity And The Irony
"The Absurdity" Scene I: Sabre seems to have clearly drawn a line in the sand concerning who its customer is: the travel agency. In a number of recent media statements, Sabre clearly stated that the customer base it intends to "protect from direct connect" is defined as its travel agency subscribers. I use the term subscribers, since that is what most global distribution systems officially call the travel agencies that use their respective systems. Yet as subscribers, (or customers), these agency businesses do not actually pay for the GDS services.
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Jan. 10, 2011
The Next New Coalition?
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION – BUT FOR FUN – Farelogix today announced its intention to form a new travel industry coalition focused on the Preservation of GDS Profits and High Distribution Costs. A secondary focus will to support lobby efforts to encourage lawmakers to pass legislation that restricts innovation, prohibits new entrants, and maintains the status quo for the travel industry. The company is currently interviewing prospective lobbyists and searching for a low-cost office in the DC area.
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January 6, 2011
A Picture is Worth $7 Billion
The real story behind airline distribution, travel supply chain, and consumer value
“A Picture is Worth 1000 Words.” This quote has been attributed to Confucius, Napoleon Bonaparte, and a real estate advertisement in the New York Times in 1914. Regardless of who originally coined the phrase, it has been applied countless times as a statement befitting situations where sometimes something must be seen to be believed.
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Dec. 2, 2010
‘Not My Job!’ and Other Oddities re: GDS Distribution
The following is a Farelogix response to "Distribution Execs Opine on Transparency, Economics" as published by The Beat on Nov. 18, 2010.
I attended the recent PhoCusWright Conference, where the underlying theme was Chaos. Certainly we don't need more chaos in our industry, but as always, PhoCusWright put on a very good show. I did the usual networking and listening to the many pundits and sponsored speakers, but one in particular hit home with me: Jeff Clarke, CEO of Travelport, made a number of industry observations and statements during his interview presentation. Two statements in particular were strikingly significant in terms of how Travelport and other incumbent players view the world of distribution.
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Nov. 17, 2010
Ask the Question
Why are airlines and travel agencies unhappy with the state of travel distribution? Ask the Question!
View Ask the Question # 7
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Nov. 17, 2010
GUEST: Jim Davidson on The Case of the New Cookie
During a recent airplane ride, I began to think about travel distribution as the pure supply chain it is. For a few minutes, I decided to view travel through the eyes of an entirely different industry, with a straightforward supply chain point of view.
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Nov. 5, 2010
Farelogix Response to Sabre’s 20+ Questions on Direct Connect
Farelogix is a travel distribution technology services company that provides distribution solutions to travel suppliers (mostly airlines) and travel agencies. We have a vested interest in growing our company by creating innovative and low-cost technology solutions. We believe in fair, healthy and legal competitive practices. We even enjoy a good fight now and then. Farelogix is in business to create value for our customers and maximize the return for our investors. We charge our customers fees for using our technology services. Farelogix offers a number of products and services as Open Source and free of charge (primarily to promote industry technology modernization), as well as our for-fee products and services ... and contrary to all the rumors, "I am not a witch!"
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September 10, 2010
It must have been that last piece of key lime pie, or maybe the imported red wine ... I'll no doubt never know what caused me to wake up at 3 a.m. singing a strange variation of the Ghostbusters movie theme. Oh come on, you know how it goes: "Whoya gonna call? Ghostbusters!" Except my version was much more disturbing: "When you need innovation, in your travel supply chain, who ya gonna call? Uncle Sam!"
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August 11, 2010
Ask the Question
Why aren’t corporate booking tools embracing ancillary services? Take a look at
Ask the Question #3
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August 6, 2010
Ask the Question
What is going on with the battle over new airline standards? Check Out
Ask the Question #2
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Jun 24, 2010
Davidson On 'Why The Latest BTC Allegations Don't Add Up And What We Can Do About It'
The following guest column was contributed by Farelogix CEO Jim Davidson.
OK, I'll admit it: Lately I have been trying to take a more passive role in travel industry public discourse. After the surprising accusation that I was leading a cult-like movement toward innovation and against the status quo, I decided to "turn the other cheek," "start with a fresh page," "take one for the gipper," and just shut up. I had even decided to stop my "incessant incantations" on XML (oooh that seductive XML...XML...XML...XML.).
Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, my incantations.
As those who run with me in my inner circle know, I have been a long-time student of the ancient arts of spell-casting and mind control. But up until very recently, the only spell I have been able to cast was putting an accidental curse on Mike Premo of ARC that makes him feel compelled to wear a bow tie whenever he leaves the house. And I'm still working to correct that one. So for several reasons, I hereby promise no more incantations. However I can't stop being incessant and vocal when I see danger and hypocrisy afoot in our industry, which brings me to the purpose of this article.
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May 12, 2010
Standardized Creativity? Homogenous Product Differentiation? The Quest For Control Of The Airline Product
Farelogix is highly supportive of management and settlement standards being developed around the merchandising process. We have been the leaders in developing the first ARC certified EMD (both EMD-A and EMD-S), which is in full accordance to the IATA reporting standard. Farelogix merchandising solutions also fully support ATPCO fare filings if airlines opt to use ATP instead of alternative merchandising solutions in the market.
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April 15, 2010
To All CASMA Members: It’s Time to Re-engage!
I recently attended the CASMA meeting in Montreal. I was invited to participate on a panel to discuss “value-based” merchandising, which I was honored and pleased to do. Engaging in fruitful industry dialogue, in particular about critical topics such as airline merchandising, is well worth the time and money investment required to prepare thoughtful, provocative and hopefully entertaining presentations. It was clear that several other presenters share this view. The quality of presentations, however, is not the focus of this letter.
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April 8, 2010
Fear and loathing in the airline industry, innovation on hold?
It is no secret that one of the most powerful ways to influence individual and societal behavior is fear. Just turn on the evening news or read a history book to see all kinds of examples where scaremongerers – those who exploit others’ worst fears for political or commercial benefit – manage to scare people into doing what might otherwise not make logical sense.
It is tremendously disappointing to see the extent of scaremongering (or fearmongering, for readers in the US) taking place right now within the travel industry. I am referring to the recent communications from the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) on the topic of airline direct connects and ancillary services.
Read the full article here
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The Merchandising WIIFM (What’s In It for Me?) Series
In this series of articles published on The Beat blog, Jim explores the merchandising movement from various perspectives and points of view, asking the question ‘What’s In It for Me?’ and exploring the value proposition across the travel supply chain. |
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Apr 14, 2010
Part 5: Airline Merchandising, The WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) Series: Enough Already, Stop Waiting, Take Action!
So here we are, Merchandising WIIFM Series Installment 5, and instead of the planned content (a rather pithy piece on portable merchandising), I'm grumpy and have decided to vent. Hopefully my rantings will prove interesting enough for you to keep reading.
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Feb 25, 2010
Part 4: Merchandising: Just Because It’s Complex Doesn’t Mean We Have to Make It Hard
So far, we’ve established that there are a number of opportunities associated with flight merchandising -- new revenue streams, revitalized supplier-customer relationships, and a way for airlines to finally move beyond commoditization and truly differentiate their product. We left off our last installment, however, with an important question: “How will this rapid adoption of airline merchandising be possible, given the complexities that characterize airline and agency operational and technical supporting processes?”
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Feb 4, 2010
Part 3: Merchandising: Challenges, Opportunities, Truth And Myth
No more pithy intros or recaps of the last article; it's time to get right into it. Here we go: The search for truths and myths about airline merchandising. For some, the reality of developing, implementing, and distributing an effective airline merchandising product is way too complex to even imagine. This is a myth.
At a macro level, there are really only two major challenges that need to be overcome in order for merchandising to flourish. There needs to be a solid value proposition to motivate buying behavior, and there needs to be operational and technical process to allow the transaction to take place. This is a truth.
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Jan 21, 2010
Part 2: Airline Merchandising, The WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) Series - Just The Facts Please!
Last week, I introduced a blog series on merchandising. The first installment focused on the fact that there is a wide range of opinions and emotions across the travel industry regarding this new phenomenon called merchandising. I also pointed out that there is a fair amount of misinformation and misunderstanding on the topic, and this often inhibits effective discussion and debate. So, in the hopes of leading to more fruitful and informed discussions for all of us, this second installment is a short primer on merchandising lingo. The intent here is to give us all a baseline understanding about this powerful movement that is unfolding in our industry.
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Jan 13, 2010
Part 1: Airline Merchandising, The WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) Series - Why are we so anxious about airline merchandising?
There, we said it! The question everyone always has but seldom asks in public--what's in it for me?--is now out in the open, so we can talk about it more freely. We can finally begin to have some much-needed, intelligent conversation and debate about airline merchandising, without hiding behind fear, apprehension, or lack of understanding. We can begin to address questions such as these: What is it, really? In what shape and form will this new industry beast show itself? What are the technological, commercial, and adoption implications? Why is it so scary? And yes, we can even address the big question: What's in it for me?
Read the full article here |
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August 24, 2009
GUEST: Davidson On The Purpose Of Business Travel
I have the pleasure of speaking at many industry conferences around the world, where I meet with global travel management companies, airlines, the global distribution systems and a variety of top execs from third-party companies.
The general tone this year has been very serious, with many of the presentations and discussions focused on the economy and its negative impact on our industry. What I found most intriguing were those that attempted to address the reduction in travel, or specifically "alternatives to business travel."
First, let me say there is absolutely no acceptable or viable alternative to business travel. I have always had a very simplistic definition of business travel: "Travel for the purpose of creating or maintaining business." Put simply: It's all about increasing revenue.
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