7/19/2007
Garber Travel and Atlas Travel International, both Sabre subscribers, separately signed agreements to use G2 SwitchWorks' G2Agent desktop, the companies said.
Although both Massachusetts-based agencies said that they will use G2Agent on agency desktops throughout their U.S. offices for corporate and leisure clients, Garber and Atlas will be able to access GDS content, as well.
G2Agent essentially is an interface enabling agencies to customize their content sources, said Darlene Rondeau, G2's vice president of sales and marketing.
In a change of its launch strategy, G2 now views its desktop as "GDS agnostic," Rondeau said. Thus, agencies can opt to access airline content from G2 or from their GDS.
G2 pays agencies incentives when they book content through G2, and in this scenario there is no transaction fee, Rondeau said. However, if agencies use G2Agent for shopping and then book content from a GDS or other third party, they would be charged a point-of-sale transaction fee of about $2.25 per ticket and would receive no incentives from G2, Rondeau said.
G2 has "direct agreements" to access content from Galileo and Amadeus through G2Agent and is working on sub-licensing agreements with Pass Consulting and Open Jaw, which would enable G2 to tap into Sabre and Worldspan, according to Rondeau. Talks are also under way with Sabre and Worldspan regarding direct agreements, she said.
Garber and Atlas are not using G2Agent today because the latest version of the desktop has not been released. Plans call for G2Agent to begin beta testing in the fall and for the product to be launched late this year or early in 2008.
Rock Blanco, Atlas Travel's chief technology officer, said that the agency's goal is to have G2Agent, which uses point-and-click technology instead of formats, as the desktop tool for all of its agents within two years.
Among other advantages, Blanco said, G2Agent will give Atlas the flexibility to leverage the most advantageous economics based on the distribution channel and market. G2Agent will also help in recruiting new agents because there will be a uniform desktop without the need to learn GDS formats.
[TOP]
[BACK TO MEDIA ROOM]
