Globalstar Ups Global Tech

Globalstar Travel Management, the Saddle Brook, N.J.-based travel network with partner agencies in more than 50 countries worldwide, last month announced the global rollout of its enhanced suite of fare search, data and profile management technologies. The company, which earlier this year released its Hi-Mark-powered data consolidation and reporting tool, DataStar, in the United States, has rounded out its travel management technology program with a proprietary fare search technology indicative of the network's desire to compete with the mega travel management companies in global bids.

A multi-source search engine, FareStar will access all four major global distribution systems, as well as the Internet and all Globalstar member negotiated rates for content, offering partners the lowest available airfare for any itinerary, regardless of point of origin.

Before the launch of FareStar, which is being used by about 10 Globalstar partners, each partner would check the GDSs, its own negotiated rates and client-specific corporate fares, said Globalstar president and managing director Martin Metzler.

"What they did not have at that point, was the knowledge of fares that would be available on the other side," Metzler said. "Now, you would get not just one or two GDS searches, but all four major GDSs to find the best available rate on that routing. That could be through the GDS in your home country or in the country of destination, or even in a third country."

Unlike competing network Radius' proprietary point-of-sale technology, The Wheel, which searches network negotiated fares after a Radius partner makes a booking to ensure purchase of the lowest available fare, Globalstar's product searches both centralized network negotiated rates and independently contracted fares before the sale.

"What was not available before to any organization, as far as we know, was the ability, in addition to the multi-GDS search, to do parallel searching of a private database that is centrally hosted where all partners provide their air contracts," said Metzler. "All of a sudden, it opens a whole new dimension of fare possibilities. Let's assume the partner in the U.K. has a killer deal negotiated for the New York-London routing, which was previously not accessible or you'd really have to jump through hoops and contact the partner. Now, with the push of a few buttons, the agent has full access to all global fares and international fare contracts available from any Globalstar partner around the world."

In an increasingly fragmented distribution environment, global travel network competition has heated up, and technology and cost savings have become areas of prime focus.

"Of course, there are central negotiations in place, but what we've found is, most likely, a partner who's negotiating somewhere in the world will get a better deal on different airlines than their home carriers," said Metzler. "We've found enormous cost savings just by making those different fare deals available to our partners. We're talking up to 30 percent cost-savings potential on already-managed travel."