InformationWeek

December 11, 2000

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Worldspan Discounts Online Business-Travel Bookings

Move will let travel suppliers share the savings from electronic distribution

By Cheryl Rosen

More on online travel:

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Internet Week: Travel's Long Journey To The Web (10/30/00)

Internet Week: AIRLINE SITE TAKES FLIGHT (9/11/00)

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n a move designed to share the savings of electronic distribution with travel suppliers, Worldspan last week said it would offer a steep discount for bookings made through online business-to-business systems such as Sabre Inc.'s Business Travel Solutions and Oracle eTravel.

The announcement came just as Worldspan and competitor Galileo International, Inc. released 2001 prices for travel bookings made through other channels, including travel agencies and consumer Web sites such as Expedia.com and Travelocity.com. Currently, those suppliers pay about $3.95 for every booking, change, or cancellation that they handle. Galileo raised its rates for next year by 6%; Worldspan will charge 4% more. But Worldspan's business customers who book online will pay just $1.95.

Worldspan, which is owned by Delta, Northwest, and TWA airlines, is the booking engine behind Expedia .com and Priceline.com Inc. Sabre, the U.S. market-share leader in travel distribution, has yet to unveil its prices for next year, but it already discounts online corporate bookings by $1.

The discount for online business bookings is designed to keep suppliers from bypassing existing channels altogether and building direct Internet links between Web sites and their inventory systems, says Paul Blackney, Worldspan's president and CEO. "That isn't good for us, and honestly isn't good for anyone who's concerned about delivering service to travelers," he says. Keeping travel agents in the loop gives customers a one-stop shop with a human being who has access to the traveler's itinerary.