Reuters Article

It was nice to be quoted in a today's Reuters' article. Unfortunately , the reporter became confused between the definition and concept of a GDS and that of an online travel agent. Though there is a connection between online travel and the GDS, (Travelocity and Orbitz are owned by two of the GDS, in the case of Cendant they own both Galileo and Orbitz) the way the reporter tied the two together is incorrect and misleading. The issue is about distribution and value, not online travel. Considering Orbitz's direct link technology, they themselves are already bypassing the GDS. My comment about leakage stands. I believe we will see some inventory go through GNEs in 2006. The real question to ask the GDS, is how low can you go? Is there a floor on their ability to match GNE pricing? What role does technology play in setting distribution costs? The GNEs say it plays a major role. The GDS says its all about price. We'll see who's right this year...