GDS helps agents cut costs through back-office efficiency tools

Friday, 18 Oct, 2006 0

Amadeus has developed new back-office airfare technology to help travel agents improve efficiency and cut administration costs.

An airfare management system, FareXpert, will be launched in November, and aims to simplify the process of loading published, negotiated and any special discount fares on the system by using web-based technology with point and click graphics.

The system enables travel agents to add their own mark-up to fares once they are loaded in the system as well as decide who will have access to the fares and when.

The technology should also reduce the volume of agency debit memos travel agents have to pay to the airlines for charging the wrong fare.

Research carried out by Amadeus through its ‘Show Me the Value’ project earlier this year revealed administration and support costs per ticket for business travel agents amounted to £13.50 out of the total operating cost per ticket of £32.40.

Amadeus UK and Ireland managing director Stephane Durand said: “From a travel agency perspective it’s a big deal because most are spending a great deal to have these fares properly loaded. We believe this is going to generate significant cost savings.”

The GDS has also improved the e-ticketing process within the Amadeus Selling Platform and is introducing the enhancements this month.

The technology now employs graphics instead of cryptic GDS code so more agents will be able to book and manage tickets.

The improvements are also expected to reduce the amount of time it takes to amend tickets from eight minutes to two minutes.

Linda Fox

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