AA Joins CO, DL, UA In CWT's Direct Connection

Carlson Wagonlit Travel today announced that American Airlines has joined Continental, Delta and United airlines in linking directly to CWT agents and clients through DirectNet, a non-global distribution system booking channel provided to users of CWT's Symphonie platform by Accenture subsidiary Navitaire. According to a spokesperson for DirectNet's only existing corporate user, Accenture, "We're in the process of adopting it and look forward to using it with our U.S. travel program."

The initiative's origins lie in Accenture predecessor Andersen Consulting's failed Via World Network, which also provided benefits that included automated ticket exchanges and the possibility of an incentive from carriers that benefit from the channel's lower costs.

Now, said CWT global CIO Loren Brown, "Incentives are not in our commercial arrangements with the carriers, but our hope is that airlines will award clients who use it."

According to Navitaire, tickets issued through DirectNet cost an airline $3 or less, versus "typical GDS-issued tickets that on average costs an airline between $10 and $15."

In a prepared statement, Continental senior vice president of marketing Jim Compton said DirectNet "dramatically drives down the costs of distribution for us, while providing our customers with an efficient, cutting-edge booking tool."

CWT officials last week struggled to outline for reporters the benefits of DirectNet. They waffled, even, when asked to outline the extent to which bookings would move off the GDS and toward the direct channel. "How much we use the GDSs in the future depends on their efficiency and their ability to deliver content," said CWT president Robin Schleien. "If our customer needs access to something that is not on a GDS, we can deliver it. It should be directed to the most efficient channel."

CWT said that in a pilot test earlier this year, "more than 70 percent of all transactions were being ticketed through this enhanced CWT Symphonie channel."

"We're not trying to put anyone out of business," added Schleien. "The goal is not to take transactions away from the GDS. Relative to the revenues we've seen traditionally from the GDSs, we have very important strategic relationships with them that are worldwide and will continue."

It was a less aggressive posture than Schleien took this spring, when he told Business Travel News that "Expedia and Orbitz are in my sandbox. I need to ask the GDSs if they are with me or against me. I will sit down with them and say, 'We've proven we can do this. Now what are you going to do about it?' I am not saying this would help obtain leverage with airlines, but they would look favorably at it. My customers want to know if they can have access to all content and that it is not costing them anything more. They don't care about direct connect." At the time, he said CWT would continue to book negotiated corporate fares through the GDSs.

"It's hard for customers to get their hands around direct connections," said Management Alternatives consultant John Heilner. "With everything else that's going on, this seems too complicated right now."

CWT said its DirectNet will access the participating carriers' Web-only fares, which already exist in Sabre and probably soon will be available in other global distribution systems. Still, officials said, there is reason to develop a platform that would compete with GDSs because some suppliers do not work with them at all. A few of those, in fact, use an internal reservations system provided by Navitaire, called Open Skies. Further, they said, automated e-ticket refunds and exchanges "will dramatically reduce distribution costs for CWT clients and will ensure accurate fare calculation and consistent service fee collections at the point of sale or ticket exchange." Direct sales are settled through ARC's Direct Connections service.

"This is not a future development we are announcing. It is real content, for real clients, working today," Schleien said. According to CWT's Aug. 1 news release on the new technology, "CWT is planning a phased and deliberate approach to turning on this technology. It will be expanded as it is strategically rolled out to more carriers, clients and countries." DirectNet is being launched at CWT after three years of development, officials said.

DirectNet will be used both for self-service bookings made by travelers on CWT's Horizon tool and by CWT reservations consultants.