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Sabre Airlines

Sabre airlines

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Information technology is a generic term. In fact there is a system of information technologies. The largest and most important information systems in the tourism sector are the computer reservation systems. The US Department of Transportation defines a CRS as 'a periodically updated central data base that is accessed by subscribers through computer terminals'. They have emerged as the dominant technology.
Computer reservation systems (CRSs) were developed by the airlines. They are primarily tools used by airlines to maintain inventory control of their seat offerings. They have played a significant role in facilitating increasing volumes of travel over the last two decades. A significant shift is now occurring towards global distribution systems (GDS) and increased competition amongst airline groups seeking to broaden and strengthen their product distribution through developing regional global CRSs. A GDS takes the inventory from a CRS (or from many of them) and distributes it via travel agents and other distribution outlets. A GDS has no specific airline inventory control functions other than to 'report back' (French 1998). Since the early 1990s their function has expanded to include many other travel products (e.g. accommodation, rent a car, etc.) and to embrace alternative means of distribution to travel agents, such as Internet. Originally they were developed by groups of airlines in order to automate and facilitate reservations and ticketing both by the airlines themselves and travel agents. Five global or very large regional GDSs emerged, selling their services by signing up travel agencies and usually providing them with the necessary computers and IT back-up. Agents could make bookings via their GDS-many agents might be linked to more than one GDS-but the airlines then paid a fee to the GDS provider for each flight sector booked. Airlines using the GDS directly also had to pay the same fees. By switching to the Internet airlines can...