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Galileo struggles to reach agreement with airlines
GBTA Conference special: Galileo reported mixed results in attempts to agree fees with airlines and to ensure full content is displayed on its systems.
Galileo managing director distribution Gordon Wilson admitted it had yet to find a way to satisfactorily include low-cost airlines Ryanair and easyJet, which simply refuse to pay GDS fees.
“Most GDSs include some low-cost airlines but Ryanair and easyJet have not been conquered,” said Wilson.
“All GDSs are struggling to get consistency of content and we need to look at other ways to book low-cost carriers. In most cases we rely on screen-scraper technology from low-cost websites, but this is fraught with difficulty.”
Earlier in the year, Galileo struck a new deal with agents over British Airways fares after the airline cut its fees to the GDS. Agents who want access to preferential BA fares on Galileo now have to pay an opt-in fee of 50p a sector.
However, the airline is struggling to reach agreement with other airlines. It is currently in discussion with bmi, which has been highly critical of GDS fees for short-haul carriers, and other airlines have removed content from Galileo.
“Aer Lingus has taken content off GDSs,” said Wilson. “Despite all the efforts by the GDSs, Aer Lingus say they are a low-cost airline and don’t want to pay the fees.
“But we have redone the deal with BA. Members of the Guild wanted content and if they had to give something up to get the fares, they felt it was worth it.”
The deal with BA lasts for three years and Wilson said: “We know at the end of the three years there will be a new model of business but at least we have three years of stability.”
Report by Jeremy Skidmore from the GBTA Conference, Shanghai
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