Global distribution system Galileo today signed a five-year full-content arrangement with American Airlines, which joins Continental, Delta, United and US Airways in structuring new terms with the GDS this year.
Through the agreement, Galileo will distribute American's published fares and inventory to users, including "Galileo-connected travel agencies, corporate customers and Travelport online agencies booking through Galileo," the GDS said today in a statement.
While American also has come to new distribution terms with Worldspan, the carrier has yet to sign a deal in the deregulated GDS environment with Amadeus or Sabre. The carrier kicked up dirt when the two GDSs formed an agreement to leverage each other's distribution systems should a carrier not participate in one
(BTNonline, March 7). American's current deal with Sabre is set to expire at the end of this month. If a deal is not reached by that time, the carrier and GDS would operate under a 30-day extension as they work to strike new terms
(See Editor's Note below). The airline has been positioning itself in marketing messages and coporate advisories that without a contract it would push volume through Galileo and Worldspan. Sabre already has signed contracts with the other Big Six carriers, but American, the largest, is holding out for better terms.
Galileo owner Cendant Corp. last week announced the sale of its travel distribution services unit, Travelport, to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group for approximately $4.3 billion
(BTNonline, June 30).
Editor's Note, July 7: The copy above was altered to show the correct expiration date of the existing content contract. According to Sabre, once the contract expires, "the underlying contract will be the governing contract. This contract is a standard 30-day rolling participating carrier contract." Meanwhile, what did expire at the end of June was a 10-year marketing agreement in which American agreed to promote the use of the Sabre GDS.