Delta, Galileo Sign Seven-Year Content Deal

Cendant-owned Galileo and Delta Air Lines today announced a seven-year full-content agreement, giving the global distribution system access to all of the carrier's published fares and inventory. In conjunction, Delta also signed a marketing agreement with the Cendant-owned CheapTickets consumer travel Web site.

The deal represents Delta's second full-content agreement this year, following a deal with Sabre. The carrier has deviated from its legacy carrier competitors by entering into seven-year deals, as opposed to the five-year norm. Galileo, meanwhile, has forged new contracts with United and US Airways and has said it intends to renew connections to all the legacy carriers.

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Delta executive vice president of sales and customer service Lee Macenczak in a statement said, "This long-term partnership is also a critical component in achieving our key business objectives of growing revenue and effectively managing our distribution costs."

Delta today also announced new functionalities offered through its preferred distribution channel: its own Web site. The carrier said customers now can search flights "anytime" throughout a chosen travel day as opposed to segmented timeframes, search available flights three days before or after submitted dates, "see all the best deals available in an entire month to destinations worldwide, in just one click," and see prices to a destination "for a month of weekend choices."