http://www.businesstraveleurope.com/newsletter.php?typ=n&id=349&iss=59 Adams Dismisses GNEs Business Travel Europe Oct-12-2005 The new entry GDSs, known as GNEs were dismissed by Richard Adams, Sabre Travel Network?s senior vp EMEA, bringing nothing new to the industry. Describing them as Limited Travel Distributors (LTDs), Mr Adams said their systems were not global, they did not have ?exclusive access? as claimed and there was ?no breakthrough? in the technology being offered. Speaking at a press briefing, Mr Adams said: ?It?s all about economics. The airlines themselves say that it?s all about price and an attempt to lower distribution costs. ?These systems are not global. They offer a limited subset of transactions from a limited subset of carriers in one market. ?They still rely on the scale and functionality of a GDS for a complete solution. Agencies will still need a GDS in conjunction with their 3rd party system for complex transactions and comprehensive content. Airlines will still want the GDS for scale and international distribution. ?LTDs claim that they have ?exclusive access? to new open systems. That is not true. ?There is no breakthrough technology being offered. Today, over 90% of our North American agency customers are already using our Open Systems shopping and pricing solution. ?Europe is moving to Open Systems in the forthcoming months.? The GNEs which include ITA Software and G2 Switchworks are making an impact in the USA but have so far made less headway in Europe. Mr Adams also dismissed their claim to have lower prices. ?They are not removing costs from the channel, only shifting the costs among the players. ?LTDs are luring suppliers with the promise of a lower booking fee and are assuming a willingness on the agency?s part to absorb the additional integration costs incurred in managing multiple systems at the desktop,? he said. *Sabre has signed a new contract with Swiss International Airlines to give it full access to the carrier?s fares, web fares and booking classes. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.