Balance of power has shifted to airlines – Jones

The negotiations between airlines and GDSs in the US and the UK has resulted in a shift of power to the carriers, David Jones, executive vp commercial for Amadeus, said

In an interview with Travel Technology Update (part of the ATW network), Mr Jones is quoted as saying that the deals had given "all the leverage to suppliers, at huge costs for travel management companies."

He added the irony was that they had paid for full content, some of which "serves no useful purpose."

In the interview, Mr Jones said that TMCs had never had access to full content from airlines or hotels.

This was "simply unrealistic" but the access available was "more than enough for almost every user."

Mr Jones said that every time a customer found a better price on the Internet, it re-inforced TMCs' belief that they must have access to full content.

He said the approach by American Express was more reasonable.

"American Express says 'We provide content that is relevant to our customers' needs.

"Retailers have to think in terms of relevance, not access to fares and inventory that they may never actually use," Mr Jones told TTU.

AEAThe Association of European Airlines: Began in the fifties when a handful of airlines joined together for research purposes. It is now made up of 35 major airlines. Now works alongside the European Union's institutions to ensure the sustainable growth of the European airline industry. condemns "slow progress" on Single Sky

Europe must speed up its moves to introduce a Single European Sky, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said.

Its secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus described the progress so far as "fine words but no actions."

The AEA said the need for a Single Sky had become more urgent because of the increasing concerns over climate change and CO2 emissions.

A Single Sky with better air traffic management would save up to 12% in carbon emissions a year.

Mr Schulte-Strathaus said: "While the EU seeks to incorporate aviation into the Emissions Trading Scheme, we are facing the prospect of having to buy permits to fly round in circles waiting for landing slots, or zigzag across the sky from one national airway network to another."

He said that not only does European airspace need to be redesigned, but so does its regulatory and institutional framework.

"By its very nature, the Single Sky concept requires individual countries to relinquish sovereignty over their airspace and cooperate in one single system," he said.