Galileo International
has said it will offer a choice of solutions for finding and booking Web fares, including a new option for suppliers to file Web-only inventory and prices within the GDS and pay less for such bookings.

Galileo
also reiterated its work with Rosenbluth International and TRX Inc. and announced a new partner in AgentWare
, provider of Web search functionality to more than one dozen regional business travel agencies.

Galileo`s pricing model for Web-only fares is under discussion with “several major global carriers on the terms of participation,” said Galileo senior vice president of global supplier business development Flo Lugli. “We`re still finalizing the financial models, but we`re confident that our price points will provide significant value. This initiative moves us further down the path of coming up with a new economic model for distribution.

 

“It`s no secret that airlines are under tremendous pressure to drive costs out of their business,” Lugli continued. “What we`ve tried to do is look at how we change this model and drive cost to the party gaining the value from the service. We`re providing an opportunity for agencies and their corporate customers to access content they can`t today.”

She said Galileo
can charge less for Web-only fares because they typically require immediate payment and e-ticketing, which reduces processing costs. Agencies and corporate clients would not be required to pay for the service if they do not use it. Lugli was unable to comment specifically on prices.
Select U.S. and U.K. agencies over the next 60 to 90 days will pilot functionality provided by AgentWare and TRX, both of which are based in Atlanta, followed by a general rollout. The goal is “to provide to select travel agencies both desktop and mid-office Web faring solutions,” according to Galileo`s statement. The company said agents would access Web fares via its existing Windows-based agency interfaces, Focalpoint and Viewpoint, and travelers would do the same using Galileo`s Highwire corporate booking tool.
Other travel vendors to announce recent, varied web fare initiatives include the Sabre
and Worldspan
GDSs, agency automation provider and Navigant International subsidiary Aqua Software with airline-owned travel booking site Orbitz
, and a plethora of different travel agencies and tech vendors.

 

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