Kevin O'Toole/LONDON
Eleven of Europe's major carriers have officially launched their new online travel portal. As yet the proposed web service lacks even a name, but the launch was accompanied by the promise of capturing a "significant" slice of independent flight and travel bookings over the next couple of years.
The venture came to light earlier this year as a proposal by British Airways to defend against online travel agencies and some US majors encroaching on the European market (see Airline Business April). At the time it was unclear as to whether Lufthansa would swallow its rivalries and join the project. It has since done so, alongside its own Star Alliance partners SAS, Austrian Airlines and British Midland, as well as competitors Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Finnair, Iberia and KLM.
The move is little different to the founding of the computer reservation system (CRS) two decades ago, said BA strategy director David Spurlock, speaking in May at The Economist Global Airlines Conference in London. "We would endeavour to show the air fares of all airlines we can find on the CRS," says Spurlock. It would also include other travel, hotel and rental services.
The reassurance failed to stop easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou from declaring the venture anti-competitive and pledging to complain to Brussels. Spurlock believes, however, that the site would probably have to win market share of more than 25%of air travel before regulators would "run up the red flag and investigate".
Meanwhile, easyJet which is famously not listed on any CRS, says that bookings via its own web site are now at over 60% of sales, having hit the 50% mark last November.
* British Airways and Air France also added a European dimension to the new internet puchasing venture being set up in the USA by American, Continental, Delta and United Airlines. The aim is for the new e-marketplace portal to handle around $32 billion of purchasing that currently goes through the supply chains of the six carriers. Fuel, engineering and aircraft products are included on the list, along with other goods and services. Each carrier will receive equity in the venture in proportion to their, as yet undisclosed, initial investment.
Source: Airline Business
