PARSIPPANY, N.J., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- To ensure Northwest Airlines'
new ticket fees are fully disclosed to Galileo-connected agencies and
consumers, Galileo International, Inc., a leading global distribution system
(GDS) and subsidiary of Cendant Corp. (NYSE: CD), today announced it is
including Northwest's ticket fees in its faring and shopping displays so that
travel agents can view the "total cost" of the Northwest fare.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020729/GALILEOLOGO2 )
This action follows Northwest's announcement made on August 24, 2004, that
for tickets sold on or after September 1, 2004 it would "share" part of its
global distribution system expense with U.S. and Canada-based travel agencies.
Such "sharing" is a hidden direct fare increase of US$3.75 one-way, US$7.50
roundtrip per-ticket on Northwest tickets.
"With this change, Galileo agencies will now have more complete and
appropriate visibility toward the total cost of selling Northwest tickets,"
said Ken Esterow, executive vice president, supplier services, Cendant Travel
Distribution Services. "The carrier's decision to impose new ticketing fees on
all domestic tickets issued using a GDS violates the spirit and letter of its
agreements with Galileo. Following Northwest's action, we had no choice but to
respond in support of our travel agency and airline partners honoring their
commitments to Galileo."
As a result of Northwest's actions against Galileo, Northwest will not be
afforded the same benefits provided to participating carriers that honor their
commitments under their agreements. Northwest will be repositioned in the
flight display in the Galileo system. In addition, the new fee will be added
to certain fare shopping tools available to agencies. Any participating
carrier that violates its agreement by charging Galileo agencies a fee on
tickets issued through Galileo, that is not also applied to tickets offered on
the airline's own Web site, will be subject to similar actions.
"Northwest's actions hurt both the travel agency community as well as the
consumers who choose to buy their air travel through a travel agency," said
Mitch Gross, executive vice president and general manager for Travel Agency
Services, The Americas. "We are taking these actions in response to the
overwhelming demand from our travel agent customers. Many have already moved
a significant number of bookings away from Northwest to other more agent-
friendly carriers. Northwest's strategy to penalize travel agent bookings is
clearly backfiring."
About Galileo International
Galileo International is a global technology leader. Its core business is
providing electronic global distribution services for the travel industry
through its computerized reservation systems, leading-edge products and
innovative, Internet-based solutions. Galileo is a value-added distributor of
travel inventory dedicated to supporting its travel supplier, agency and
corporate customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. A subsidiary
of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) and part of Cendant's Travel Distribution
Services Division, Galileo is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, and has offices
worldwide. Visit http://www.galileo.com.
About Cendant Travel Distribution Services
Cendant Corporation's (NYSE: CD) Travel Distribution Services Division, is
one of the world's largest and most geographically diverse collections of
travel brands and distribution businesses. The division, employing nearly
5,000 people in more than 116 countries, includes: Galileo, a leading global
distribution system (GDS), serving more than 44,000 travel agencies and over
60,000 hotels; hotel distribution and services businesses (TRUST, THOR, WizCom
and Neat Group); leading online travel agencies (CheapTickets.com,
Lodging.com, HotelClub.com and RatesToGo.com); Shepherd Systems, an airline
market intelligence company; Travelwire, an international travel technology
and software company; Travel 2/Travel 4, a leading international provider of
long-haul air travel and travel product consolidator; and Travelport, a
provider of online global corporate travel management solutions.
SOURCE Galileo International
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Related links:
http://www.galileo.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020729/GALILEOLOGO2
CONTACT:
Jill Brenner of Cendant Travel Distribution
Services, +1-973-496-5870, TDS.CorpComm@cendant.com
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