Finally, GDSs Focus On Fares

<B> Finally, GDSs Focus On Fares</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty


Want to know the fare before you decide whether or not you can afford to fly? Amadeus and Sabre are finally on your wavelength with products released this month to help users quickly find the lowest fares, without having to first select flights.

It's the basis of online booking, but until now, the only way agents could access fares in the computer reservation systems was to first build an itinerary or passenger name record, detailing the departure and arrival cities, date and time. Res agents had to select a flight first and then price it.

Using the new products, though, agents can access the lowest fare and the flights on which it's available. With more than 50 million fares, five million changes a day in five updates, pricing logic is very complex, said Nancy Raynor, senior vice president of emerging markets for Sabre.

While the Amadeus and Sabre systems are designed to serve the same function, there are some slight differences between the two. The Amadeus product runs on its host or mainframe, while Sabre's is software that sits on top of the host. Also, Sabre's FlightFinder is available worldwide for flights booked between the U.S., Canada, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Amadeus Value Pricer now is available only in the U.S., but it finds fares worldwide.

Sabre's system allows searches for available inventory for up to seven days of travel. Agents frequently conduct such searches manually or through robotic software that finds the best fare in the market.

Usability tests of its new offering found travel agents improved an average 66 percent in finding and booking the cheapest flights, Sabre said.

Amadeus is charging a flat $20 per terminal per month for its product. Sabre declined to cite a price.

Neither product is yet available in either of the GDSs' corporate booking products, though it is available on Sabre's consumer site, Travelocity. Amadeus eventually plans to add the functionality to its corporate offerings, but couldn't provide a release date. Sabre BTS prioritizes its enhancements based on user feedback, and "our research shows that schedule is still the more important criteria to business travelers," said BTS vice president of marketing and business development Pete Stephens.

Another new Sabre product, Online Trip Review, allows travelers to access their itineraries on Sabre's Web site. "We're seeing tremendous usage of this--like 10,000 hits a day," Raynor said.

Instead of generating money, Sabre executives are banking that Trip Review will help build Sabre's brand awareness. "There really is a difference in using a Sabre-connected source, and we're trying to get people to understand the difference," Raynor said.

Sabre this month also is debuting Virtually There, a destination guide to New York and San Francisco.