Although the vast majority (95%) of travel transactions continue to be processed through a Global Distribution System (GDS), travel management companies and corporations increasingly want their agents and travelers to be able to access all rates and inventory from Internet sites as well as a GDS through a single interface. 

AQUA Software Products, Inc. (ASPI) announced results of an independent survey on Web fare utilization and the use of non-GDS suppliers that documented this and other conclusions.  The study was conducted by Academic & Business Consulting. The survey included corporations and travel agencies with collective air volume of almost $5 Billion and over 11.3 million yearly transactions.  Corporate participants were not customers of the agencies surveyed.

“I am not surprised by the survey’s findings,” stated Mark Ferguson, President of AQUA Software Products.  “ASPI is increasingly being asked by corporations and agencies to integrate the GDS with preferred supplier Internet content.  Our AQUAQuest product line provides the industry’s most advanced low-fare search and booking capability by merging GDS and Internet inventory into a single efficient location - the agent desktop.”  Ferguson further commented, “Based on the survey’s conclusions and ongoing customer feedback, we plan to add additional direct connections to AQUAQuest as well as enhance our data capture, management reporting and traveler access capabilities.”
——-