Sabre Travel
Network has announced the results of a new global
study that showed that Sabre is the world’s best global distribution
system (GDS) for finding the lowest fares.The study, an independent analysis conducted by Topaz
International, the industry’s leading provider of airfare analysis and
benchmarking data, is an assessment of the low fare search
capabilities across the four major GDS companies and consisted of fare
searches in 207 of the top markets in key global regions, including:
Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe/Middle East and Latin America. The study
used origin and destination cities both fully within a region and
international city-pairs, initiating within a region, terminating in
other regions.

  Sabre found the lowest fares significantly more often than any
other GDS, and the savings that travelers can achieve across the globe
are compelling:

  — Asia-Pacific average savings: 29% per ticket

  — EMEA average savings: 14% per ticket

  — Latin America average savings: 19% per ticket

  — In these results, Sabre not only found the lowest fares more
often than any other GDS, it also saved travelers more money
than any of the other GDS companies

  These results are further validation that the investments we have
made in our air shopping and pricing system are paying dividends for
our customers. Combined with results from a similar study in 2006
focusing on North America, it’s clear that Sabre is the world’s best
at finding the lowest fares across the globe. In the North America
study Sabre also found the lowest fare significantly more often than
all other GDSs with potential average savings of 7 percent per ticket.

  The findings are also an important aspect for both corporations
and the agencies that service them: It validates that the Sabre system
that powers corporate booking tools and travel management companies
finds the lowest fares available for each trip. Based on the company’s
mix of domestic and international travel, a corporation based in the
U.S. can save 10 percent or more on air travel when Sabre powers their
corporate booking tool and travel management company. For every $1
million in air spend, that’s $100k or more in savings.

  Similarly, leisure travelers are more educated and have more
options for arranging travel than ever. A key part of the expertise is
being able to find the best options representing the best value for
their trip. This study proves that agents using Sabre can be confident
they are offering the best fares available for their client’s trip -
regardless of where they are traveling all around the world.

  “Our goal is to provide the most complete and relevant
capabilities for our corporate and leisure agencies and their
customers,” said John Stow, president of Sabre Travel Network. “This
study demonstrates we are making the right investments in the right
places to provide the best service and the best price.

  “This foundation is really a two-fold effort: First we fought hard
to ensure full content for our agency customers. In conjunction, we
have been making investments to leverage the best technology for
shopping and pricing this content, and then making this technology
available to our customers in the most seamless way possible. In fact,
in Asia-Pacific, we were the first company to provide a single
solution for shopping and pricing that worked region-wide. The
migration there, as it was for most customers around the world, was
virtually flawless,” Stow explained.

  These statistics represent an improvement in Sabre’s savings
propensity and low-fare search strength from just two years ago. Since
the last low fare search assessment in 2005, Sabre has invested
significantly in open systems technology and migrated customers to
this new technology to enhance their low fare search. The result is an
average 15 point improvement against all competitors:

  — In 2005, Sabre found the same or lower fare against its
closest competitor 72 percent of the time. In the 2007 study this percentage leaped to nearly 90 percent, with very similar
gains relative to all three GDS competitors.

  — In 2005, Sabre outperformed competitors in low fare search,
with competitors finding a lower fare 26 percent of the time.
In the new study, Sabre widened the gap relative to competing
GDS offerings, with competitors finding a lower fare only 11
percent of the time.

  — Additionally, Sabre’s average win percentage increased from 37
percent to 44 percent of the time.

  Topaz conducts independent audits of airfares, hotels and car
rentals, in addition to internet studies, travel program audits and
training for travel agents worldwide. Topaz data has been referenced
in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Travel
Weekly and Business Travel News.
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