Worldspan Unveils Next-Generation Faring Engine

Worldspan today introduced ePricing, a server-based airfare search engine developed to more comprehensively search for fares at a lower cost than traditional mainframe-based systems. The ePricing engine, jointly developed with Expedia, offers low-fare search capabilities on a more flexible and cost-efficient platform, according to Worldspan officials.

"The key component that is different is the number of fares and number of options to be considered for each pricing attempt," said Lana Southwick, Worldspan vice president of worldwide product solutions. "The mainframe has restrictions on capacity, whereas the server environment expands the number into the millions instead of the thousands."

Though Worldspan is the first global distribution system using this type of technology--the pricing capabilities went live on the server farm today--Southwick acknowledged that special Web fares found on Expedia, but traditionally unavailable in the GDS, still are "not necessarily" included in the low-fare searches.

Worldspan said the new faring engine, which is being integrated into its Power Product suite of fare and pricing solutions, will bring greater efficiency to all users, including smaller leisure agencies, large management companies and online travel sites. Worldspan president and CEO Paul Blackney said that once the new system is fully phased in, it will save millions of dollars per year. "The fact that it's so much less expensive means that we can afford to deliver more complete pricing," he said.

"This is really pretty significant," said Norm Rose, president of Travel Tech Consulting in Belmont, Calif. "The bottom line is that all processes will have to move to an open-based platform. If all GDSs need to move to lower cost platforms to compete, than the one that gets there first may win. Worldspan has always been the outside-the-box GDS. They are smaller and they can be more aggressive."

Business Travel News in September reported online that Sabre had announced plans to migrate its mainframe applications to Compaq's NonStop Himalaya server and database environment, creating a next-generation travel tech platform that will make "travel shopping, planning and managing easier and faster."