Timothy O’Neil-Dunne reports on his key observations made at the recent T2RL Engage conference in London.
That great chill between airlines and the GDSes is beginning to see a softening and a thaw in the relationships. Perhaps global warming can have some positive impact.
That’s the key sentiment I took away from the T2RL Engage 2024 conference held in London last month. More than 500 airlines, vendors and sellers joined this year, its biggest yet, indicating the strong interest in the airline of airline distribution.
These are my key takeaways:
- NDC – making meaningful progress.
- OO(S)SD is the future state, recognition of the importance of service components. The PSS world is moving and the replacement of the PNR is now in sight. Dynamic (Continuous) Pricing will move to “real” real-time pricing in all channels.
- An era of détente seems to be emerging with GDSs no longer on the endangered species list. Airlines and Travel Sellers/Intermediaries are being a lot friendlier
- New players such as Flyr and CitizenPlane are emerging. This is good to see that newcomers have a place. But the stakes are very high.
- Pros is at the heart for airlines, Revenue Management (RM) is both a science and an art.
- ATPCO has managed to redefine itself away from the world of just fare rules. Fares and rules are dead, long live the product catalogue.
- UATP is not just about its card programme any more. As payment splinters its infrastructure is picking up where others are failing.
- Modularity was the new buzz word.
On the downside, there are some realities that were clearly on display. IATA’s failure to clearly define the NDC standard and its subsequent management has cost the industry both time and undoubtedly a lot of money. The full adoption curve is now many years away.
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