The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) commended JetBlue Airways for its recent decision to include its flight inventory in Global Distribution Systems (GDS)— computer reservations systems often used by…
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) commended JetBlue Airways for its recent decision to include its flight inventory in Global Distribution Systems (GDS)— computer reservations systems often used by travel agents to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to travel. ASTA members who subscribe to Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or Woldspan will have complete access to JetBlue’s inventory.
JetBlue’s decision to make their inventory available to travel agents through GDSs is a step in the right direction, said Cheryl Hudak, CTC, ASTA president and CEO. Travel agents sell 51 percent of all airline tickets, which makes them very valuable to the business operations of airlines. We commend JetBlue for realizing the impact agents have on the travel industry and economy as a whole.
JetBlue’s decision to re-enter GDS systems is a move to help the airline attract more customers who fly for business. Currently, the low-fare, low-cost airline sells 80 percent of all travel on jetblue website, but with recently growth in business travel markets on the Eastern Seaboard, the airline decided the best channel to market to the corporate world was through GDSs. Some travel agents have already reported significant increases in bookings of business travelers on JetBlue through GDSs. Now more customers have more low-fare choice when booking with their travel agent.
At JetBlue we recognize the value of the GDS channel and we are happy to be able to offer our full content to agency and corporate customers who are GDS subscribers, said Noreen Courtney-Wilds, Director of Sales and Distribution, JetBlue Airways. These new agreements allow us to add good incremental business and reach people who otherwise would not have an opportunity to book JetBlue.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
