Travelport, Russian Low-Cost Carrier Activate Distribution Deal

Travelport on Feb. 1 started a distribution agreement with Sky Express, which claims to be the first low-cost carrier in Russia. The deal makes Sky Express bookable on both Galileo and Worldspan.

Sky Express, which launched in 2007, flies Boeing 737s to 10 domestic destinations from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. It is Russia's fifth-largest domestic carrier.

Russia has a complex air distribution landscape, partly because of the continuing use of technology introduced during the Soviet era. According to Travelport's managing director for Eastern Europe, Niklas Andreen, three locally based global distribution systems, used only by Russian airlines, accounted for two-thirds of the 40 million air segments sold last year. Travelport, Amadeus and Sabre took the other third.

In addition, some local airlines still sell tickets through dedicated airline terminals in travel agencies. "In the West, an agency has one or two GDSs at most, but in Russia they work on four or five different terminals," Andreen told EuroBTN.

Travelport has invested heavily in adding Russian carriers to its systems and Andreen claimed it has doubled volumes there over the past two years. "The majority of the big airlines are signed up. Our strategy is now about signing the niche carriers," he said.

Sky Express commercial director Andrey Egorov said, "Although Sky Express has enjoyed significant early success since launching operations in 2007, we believe participating in the GDS channel is essential to ensure our future growth."