Sabre Holdings today said it signed a seven-year full-content distribution agreement with Delta Air Lines, representing the longest-term pact between a global distribution system and a major carrier in the deregulated GDS environment, and a five-year deal with United Airlines.
Sabre earlier this year signed five-year agreements with Northwest and US Airways
(BTN, Feb. 6) and said it is striving toward renewals with all major carriers as contracts expire this year. Neither Delta nor the GDS disclosed the terms of the agreement.
In conjunction with the GDS deal, Delta and United each signed marketing agreements with Sabre-owned Travelocity and agreed to participate in Travelocity's last-minute travel engine Site59.
"This agreement further supports Delta's restructuring efforts, including our goal to effectively manage our distribution costs," Delta executive vice president of sales and customer service Lee Macenczak said in a statement. "We are committed to providing multiple distribution options that are both preferred by our customers and offer attractive economics to Delta."
Meanwhile, Cendant's Galileo this week signed a five-year full content agreement with US Airways, through which the GDS will distribute "published fares and inventory, whether flown under the America West or US Airways brand, including Web fares available on its own site and through third parties." KLM and Amadeus also forged a deal this week, through which the GDS "secures the airline's complete public inventory of flights and fares," Amadeus said in a statement.
The moves are the latest in flurry of full-content agreements between carriers and GDSs. Galileo also has new contracts in place with United Airlines
(BTNonline, April 10) and Worldspan recently signed American and Continental airlines
(BTNonline, April 4).