Airlines in Transition: Ancillaries come to the GDS, but websites still hold retail advantage

The immense complexity of air transport means getting air fares to passengers is an exhaustive task, and once revenue management has set a price, most airlines call it a day. Not enough time goes into developing websites that approach user-friendly status; the bad examples outnumber the good. Yet ironically this is the start of a passenger's interaction with the airline, aside from past experience or marketing exposure. There is no opportunity to taste the celebrity chef cuisine your airline boasts, or feel your wool duvet to a competitor's cotton offering. Price reigns, and a seat, as the industry laments, becomes a commodity.

For all their lacking, airline websites still hold a retail advantage over GDS, although the latter has a market share advantage, accounting for some 60% of bookings by value. A number of groups are trying to close the gap by having ancillaries hosted, or hosted better, on GDS. IATA is working on its New Distribution Capability, Amadeus is able to sell United's economy plus seats while Travelport, on the eve of CAPA's Airlines in Transition conference in Dublin in Apr-2013, announced its merchandising platform.