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Airlines still reliant on agent sales
A recent survey shows air passengers are buying tickets online, but not direct from the airlines.
The Airline IT Trends Survey, which analysed sales of airline tickets between April and June 2002, found that airline websites accounted for 5% of all tickets sold during that period, and other web channels accounted for 10%. These include online travel agencies, joint airline websites and auction websites.
When investigating how the airlines viewed their websites, the survey found that 46% of airlines rated the complexity of their pricing models as the biggest issue with online sales. Doubts over payment security and desire not to upset traditional sales channels were a further worry for 35% of respondants.
SITA senior vice president, Bryan Wilson said: “The survey shows that the majority of airlines continue to rely on the traditional travel agent supported by the GDSs. However, the lower costs of the web and growing customer acceptance of the technology are driving a sea change that is taking place in airline distribution.”
The survey, conducted by SITA Application Service and Airline Business magazine is based on responses from 90 airlines.
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