This is a very brief white paper on alternate modes of GDS connectivity for travel booking. This article is little out of time in terms of examples, which I am going to update soon. However, the content is quite relevant to any time.

1. Alternate GDS Connection
Date: 04/Dec/2011
Author: sevenSolutions
About: This is a very brief white paper on alternate
modes of GDS connectivity for travel booking. This
article is little out of time in terms of examples, which
I am going to update soon. However, the content is
quite relevant to any time.

2. Alternate GDS Connection Dec-2011
Alternative ways of purchasing air tickets and GDS Connectivity:
(That does not include Internet or personal TA contact)
1. Mobile Booking:
Booking of flight tickets and other facilities, for example reviewing flight schedules, comparing fares can be
done using the mobile phone. Calling up the customer care of the airline or the travel agent is obvious,
however we are discussing about the other means that does not involve talking to an agent.
a. SMS
A short code can be sent to the TA provided code with specific parameters to receive the required
information.
Example: Cleartrip provides a facility to send a sms to 667744 with source, destination, date and
month. The reply comes with list of flight codes, time of departure and price, all sorted by price in
ascending order. This service is available to Cleartrip’s customers having Airtel, BPL, Hutch and Reliance
connection.
b. IVR
A specific number provided by the carrier can be called, and an Interactive Voice Response would ask
questions and guide the user through. The IVR can also take the payment details and process the
payment. The e-ticket can be either sent as email or can be collected over the counter.
Example: Shanghai SmartPay Jieyin has partnered with Lu Hai Kong travel agency in Hefei, Anhui
Province, to jointly launch mobile and telephone based payment for airline electronic tickets. As part of
the launch promotion, customers who buy airline e-ticket in Lu Hai Kong ticket agency and process
payment via interactive voice response (IVR)
2. Smart Card
A smart card (also known as chip card or integrated circuit card-ICC), is a pocket-sized card with embedded
integrated circuits which can process information. It can receive input, process it using the ICC applications and
delivers the output. The airline smart card enables to easily and quickly identify passengers, board a flight,
obtain a ticket, and pay for other products and services. The smart card provides airlines the opportunity to
make savings in distribution costs, provides better security against fraud, allows more of their passengers to
use self-service facilities, and provides a better means of identification of their frequent travelers.
Examples: Air France has issued smart cards to frequent flyers on its routes from Paris Orly to Marseille and
Toulouse. The card is a contact-less smart card using the Mifare radio frequency technology (similar to the
Lufthansa card). Gemplus is the supplier of the cards. The card has been used as passenger identification, the
ticket and boarding authority.
3. GDS developed Application
GDS provides applications that the participating carrier can purchase and use to inform its passengers by means
of alerts on their mobile phones. The alerts can be for flight delays, terminal/gate changes, flight cancellations,
airport/airline alerts, city/country security alerts, as well as a trip reminder service. Alerts can be private or
custom branded with contact information and can be sent via Voice, e-mail, fax or Short Messaging System
(SMS). Customized alerts or marketing messages can be also created to get in touch with the passengers
anywhere they may be. The alerts can be delivered to travelers via WML and HDML phones, Web-enabled PDAs
and RIM Blackberry devices. Any device that receives e-mail or SMS (AOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ) can receive Alert
Notifications.
Example: Sabre® InformSM mobile service is a solution that provides the participating carriers passengers with
access to their travel plans – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mobile services for the customers can be enabled
at minimal cost, time and effort. There is no hardware or software to purchase, no developers to train and no
systems to maintain and operate. Convenient, efficient and easy to implement, Sabre® InformSM helps foster
long-term customer relationships and maintain a distinct competitive advantage.
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3. Alternate GDS Connection Dec-2011
4. Airline developed Application
A software application can be installed on the phone that would provide access to a specific airline’s reservation
system, book, pay and generate e-tickets via phone. This would require a JAVA enabled handset with GPRS
connection.
Example: Jet Airways has launched a mobile airline-ticketing service called JetWallet, for Jet Privilege members
who are also Hutch customers. JetWallet allows Jet Privilege members to book, pay (via credit card) and
generate e-tickets on the phone. E-Tickets are emailed to a user specified email addresses, and a copy of the
details is sent via SMS. There’s also an option of a web check-in. The application can be used for domestic
flights only.
5. Phone Manufacturer/GDS developed Application
Mobile phone manufacturers generally provide integrated software for the use of applications like MS Office and
also for connecting to the Internet using GPRS on WAP. These applications can also provide pre-programmed
interface to a GDS. Using this feature, travel plans can be made, schedules can be seen and tickets can also be
booked.
Example: Sabre Holdings signed an agreement with Motorola to power its Mobile Office Solution with travel and
ticketing capabilities for mobile professionals. Motorola’s integration with Sabre's wireless travel is a part of its
Travel Connector component of the Mobile Office Solution.
Motorola and WORLDSPAN furnish travel information via Motorola's Internet-access-enabled wireless devices.
Through Motorola's Mobile Internet Exchange™ communications platform (also known as the MIX™ platform)
and its enhanced voice capabilities carriers will be able to offer their customers access to WORLDSPAN's travel
services through any phone. WORLDSPAN is the first travel channel provider to the core content of Motorola's
MIX platform.
WAP sites of GDS
The WAP versions of the sites of GDS provides users of mobile phones to surf the site on their GPRS mobile phones and
plan the travel.
Example: Amadeus, a Spanish-based technology provider for the travel and tourism industries, is live with its Wireless
Travel Management (WTM) system together with Scandinavian regional carrier Wideroe. The system enables Wideroe's
customers to check flight availability and book or cancel flights with over 500 airlines around the globe from a WAP-
enabled mobile device. In addition, passengers travelling with Wideroe can receive real-time updates about flight
departure and arrival times. WTM was developed jointly by Amadeus, Swedish telecoms systems provider Ericsson and
Smart, Amadeus' Scandinavian and Baltic distribution partner.
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