“It cannot be too much of a stretch to think that Asian carriers too see this. Globally, he observed that airlines such as British Airways are essentially leaving the GDS nest and pursuing independent solutions. So even as these changes mark a swing towards Sabre, they could also be a swing away from SIA, he said. Its own internal e-commerce initiatives, including the pact with Datalex, are not aligned with these efforts.” He said that SIA’s alliances with Star, ANZ and Ansett were surely a headache in their own right and “SIA is now pursuing a more independent path from Abacus. It might have been seen as too much of a Sabre takeover and that would not be in the interests of Abacus’ 11 airline owners who still feel they would like some control over their main distribution channel.Īnother observer asked however whether these changes marked “the end of the era of strong influence by SIA?” Many had expected a Sabre man to take over but Birch could have been a “compromise” candidate between the Sabre team and Abacus’ airline owners. His appointment has also raised eyebrows. His latest venture was, an Internet start-up he founded in 1999 to market online hotel reservations in France. On May 28, Birch will take over while Liu prepares to make his exit in early July.īirch was a Cathay Pacific man he worked with the It meant more incursion by Sabre troops into the Abacus fortress. The writing was on the wall for the old management of Abacus. This meant that a team within Abacus would have to work closely with Travelocity to prepare for the launch of TEA, which will take on a new name and be co-branded with Travelocity, when it is launched shortly. Abacus was selected as the primary GDS provider by TEA. Shouldn’t that have been given to Abacus, they wondered? Plus, the boss of, Frank Fotea, was a Sabre man. The role of Abacus came under further scrutiny when its airline owners decided to launch their online portal, TEA (Travel Exchange Asia).Īnd when TEA chose Travelocity, a Sabre-powered website, as its primary technology provider and a shareholder, knowing eyes were cast in Abacus’ direction. China, a prized treasure, remains a free for all with all main GDSs competing for a slice of the market. India and Thailand are markets where it faces stiffer competition. Slowly and steadily, Abacus had been adopting Sabre technology and products such as BTS (Business Travel Solutions), among them.Ībacus, which has 9,300 agency locations in Asia, has dominant market share in almost all markets where its national carrier partner is present. Slowly but steadily, Sabre executives have been positioned at Abacus. Indeed, some were already calling it a Sabre takeover at that time while Abacus management continued to deny it. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection. October - December 2022 The brightest travel stars shine: A salute to the top performers across Asia Pacific’s travel industry.January - March 2023 How is 2023 shaping up for Asia’s travel industry?.April - June 2023 Prominent leaders of Asia’s travel agent associations share insights on the most sought-after travel destinations and offer.July - September 2023 Bold, innovative, and inspiring: these leading cruise lines embrace new opportunities to meet surging demand in Asia’s cruise.Resorts World Cruises shows love for Malaysia Local talent and businesses to be showcased at sea through “Sayang Lokal” campaign.Ships ahoy! From Disney to Virgin, cruise lines set course Down Under CLIA says Australia’s cruise season in back ‘bigger and better than ever”.Hurtigruten Expedition rebrands to HX The rebranding aims for brand clarity to further global expansion.Resorts World Cruises launches Hong Kong-Sanya sailings Guests can head out for a shopping spree at the world's largest duty-free hub, before returning to the ship to unwind. Responsible Tourism Can hotels really put up a food fight? Across Asia, a new crop of sustainability conscious hotels are now tackling the mounting problem of food waste.
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