Skift - The New Wave of Booking Tech That’s Disrupting How Airlines Sell Tickets

Airlines are using new channels, such as Facebook chat and other airlines’ websites, to sell their seats and other products. Some are turning to startups for help, rather than rely only on establishment vendors.

Airlines have tended to only use IT systems that have been around for decades. This has been particularly true of the booking engines on their websites that consumers and corporate travel managers use to buy tickets.

When it comes to their internet booking engines, airlines have typically turned to established well-known technology developers.

Yet today airlines are experimenting with new ways to sell tickets. They are trying new channels, such as chat-based interfaces like like Facebook Messenger and the websites of airlines that they have co-marketing partnerships with.

One of DCS Plus’s new products has caught airline interest. The system enables travel management companies, online travel agencies, and wholesalers to book tickets directly from airlines. That process avoids the usual route of going through distribution systems, which charge large fees.

DCS Plus is one of the vendors Lufthansa has certified for providing direct connections. It is not the only company enabling agents to connect directly to LH Group inventory. But it is among the ones attracting broader airline interest. Emirates, for instance, has also been experimenting with its direct connect product.

Read the article: 

• The New Wave of Booking Tech That’s Disrupting How Airlines Sell Tickets

About Skift:

Skift is the largest industry intelligence and marketing platform in travel, providing news, information, data and services to all sectors of the world’s largest industry. Based in New York City, Skift has deep experience in identifying and synthesizing existing and emerging trends, in its daily coverage of the global travel industry.

Read the entire article: 

• The New Wave of Booking Tech That’s Disrupting How Airlines Sell Tickets

About Skift:

Skift is the largest industry intelligence and marketing platform in travel, providing news, information, data and services to all sectors of the world’s largest industry. Based in New York City, Skift has deep experience in identifying and synthesizing existing and emerging trends, in its daily coverage of the global travel industry.