Turkish Airlines content once
again is available via Sabre, the carrier announced
Monday on LinkedIn. The new agreement covers not only traditional EDIFACT
content, but also includes New Distribution Capability content.
"Through this
collaboration, we aim to diversity the access opportunities available to our
partner agencies and contribute to shaping the digital transformation of the
industry," according to the airline.
Sabre and Turkish Airlines last
year reached an impasse in their contract renegotiations, and the
airline's content had not been available through the global distribution
system as of Sept. 1, 2024. The two initially partnered in 1990, according to
the carrier.
Turkish Airlines on Oct. 1,
2024, launched its NDC platform for agents, TKConnect, which it first
announced in May 2024. That date also is when the carrier began to charge a
"distribution cost recovery fee" of $24 or its equivalent in local
currency for GDS bookings—including Amadeus and Travelport—made via the EDIFACT
channel, according to the airline's news and announcements page.
At that time, the page also
noted that there were no additional fees for ticketing made through other
distribution channels, such as TKConnect, UI, TKConnect API, TKConnect
aggregators, Quickres, Troya, Websagent, Kolaybilet or the Turkish Airlines
website and mobile app.
In November 2024, the
American Society of Travel Advisors urged Turkish to
resolve its GDS strategy, especially that with Sabre.
“ASTA strongly urges Turkish Airlines to
provide greater transparency to the U.S. travel agency distribution channel
regarding its discussions with all GDS providers, especially Sabre. This
transparency is essential for travel advisors to maintain the high standard of
service they deliver to the U.S. traveling public.”
After Monday’s announcement, EVP of ASTA’s new
corporate division Mark Meader said in a statement to BTN that the
development was a "a highly encouraging development for the U.S. travel agency community, which depends on full access to global fare content through systems like Sabre to deliver competitive and comprehensive options to their clients."
Turkish’s aggressive turn toward its
NDC-powered TKConnect platform for agencies recalled American Airlines' push in
2023 to drive more volume to direct and NDC-powered bookings. American backtracked on
that strategy, as the corporate market largely
rejected it and found American had failed to fully operationalize its NDC
channels prior to trying to cut over. Turkish’s return to Sabre 10 months after
pulling out of the major GDS in the U.S. also is reminiscent of AA’s about-face
that began last May. Turkish, however, has not made any moves to retract its
$24 surcharge and continues its TKConnect strategy alongside its aggregator
partnerships, which are not subject to the charge.
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