Conference sound bites

TravelMole Fast Conference Special: We bring you the best of the sound bites from the “Up in the Air: The Future of Selling Flights” debate… “The more technology we have, the more we will be seeking the human touch, which is why there’ll always be a role for the high street agent.” Ian Reynolds, ABTA chief executive. ”There is always a technological solution that will allow agents to get the fares they want through screen scraping – and some little man in a tin shed who will create one for you.” Richard Lovell, chairman GBTA, executive vice president EMEA, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Sabre director UK, Ireland and the Nordic region, David Brown likened talks between GDSs and British Airways to “two porcupines kissing”. “Dynamic packaging is the way forward.” Martin Tyler-Bennett, Worldspan director EMEAA, airline distribution hosting and IT solutions. On the subject of catering on certain no-frills carriers, Richard Lovell remarked how passengers “get a packet of peanuts thrown at them from the aisle”. David Brown on de-regulation: “It’s the coolest thing that has happened to this industry.” “We want to see a time when easyJet fares can be listed alongside BA, then we can get the myth out of the way that they are actually low cost carriers.” David Brown. “Many more flights will be sold online in the future but there will be fewer mass market players. Instead we’ll see a proliferation of smaller specialised sites.” David Soskin, Cheapflights.com chief executive. Report by Ginny McGrath For information on future TravelMole Fast Conferences, please visit www.travelmole.com/fastconferences, email [email protected], or call +44 (0)20 7691 3292.