Sabre sparks GDS cat fight
Galileo has hit back at Sabre for its claim that agents are making a ‘mass migration’ to the GDS.
Galileo, part of the Cendant group, claims that Sabre issued the release in retaliation after Galileo poached the lucrative P&O Business Travel contract from them.
Regional director Cendant Travel Distribution Service, Alison Bell said: “The very use of the word ‘mass’ seems a little ambitious when talking about only 14 customers, ten of which they can’t even confirm at this stage. It would be interesting to know the size and profile of these ‘mystery ten’ before we can really refer to them as ‘leading’ agencies.
“If these customer wins are so significant, it is interesting that Sabre feel sufficiently nervous about the robustness of their latest tool that they should choose two customers with relatively low volumes as their launch sites.”
Ms Bell also claimed that none of the customers mentioned by Sabre are members of the GBTA.
Ms Bell also attacked Sabre on its claim to be absorbing the GDS charge recently introduced by British Airways. She said the GDS will recoup the loss by reducing agent incentives. She said: “The first signs were seen very soon after the BA agreement when they announced that they would no longer actively market the DCA programme.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
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