A Golf Blog

RSS @ Travelocity

Jupiter Research Analyst Diane Clarkson on Travelocity's foray into RSS.

EU GDS Deregulation Update

It looks as if the EU is going to slide GDS deregulation in along with 1,400 pieces of legislation being processed as one, all without debate. This means that total deregulation will also end mandatory participation; any airline that owns a stake in a GDS must offer it’s content and fares to the other GDS’ on the same terms.

One of the reasons regulation happened in the first place was that the GDS were owned in large part by airlines; airlines that could bias availability displays to favor the owning airline and its partners. In a totally deregulated environment, the part owners of Amadeus (Air France, Lufthansa, and Iberia) could usher in monopoly positions in each carrier’s home country.

I suppose that could happen but when you think about it, wouldn’t the three carriers reap greater benefit by having their content and fares in as many outlets as possible? The answer is of course.

The real issue is that the airlines want to see lower costs for distribution of their product. And it will continue to be an issue until their costs approach $0.00.

Link courtesy of Travel and Hospitality Industry Digest – free registration required.

My Devil or Yours

From Tony Brice at OutsideTheStar:

“travel metasearch is to consumers as GDS's were to travel agencies”

and that the end game for travel suppliers is likely

“exchanging the devil they think they know (GDSs) for the devil they don't (keyword costs)”

Link to Tony’s full post.

The Die is Cast

In the end, the decision was pretty easy. I’ve elected to retire from Sabre and American Airlines on 12/31. The fact that my job was eliminated entitles me to severance and that will come in handy. The dual retirement option was from an agreement back in 1996 when Sabre spun-off from American. I suppose I could have landed somewhere but landing is the last thing I wanted to do. I can’t imagine being stuck in a job that I didn’t look forward to doing every day. If an opportunity presents itself, I’ll certainly consider it.

There’s some disappointment but no hard feelings. Between now and the end of the year, my focus will be on getting our blog system public facing. We’ve made some progress but still have a way to go.

Neighborhood Exclusivity

Snapped this gem on the way back from lunch. This is how you tell if the town you live in is collecting to much in the form of taxes.

Are You Listening

It's more of a rhetorical about being part of the conversation but if you're not listening how would you know?

Case in point - IBDNetwork is producing a one day conference called Under the Radar. It's about Enterprise Technologies where 32 companies with less than 3 rounds of funding will present their technologies and a team of judges will decide winners and also rans. There will be hard hitting questions and blah, blah, blah.

Robert Scoble wrote about it here lamenting that he didn't have the $495 fee to get in. His post was picked up by Cori Schlegel, which I got from Dave Winer's Scripting News, where she wondered out loud how many of the 32 have RSS feeds. So, you're looking to make a splash tomorrow and today maybe 25k to 35K people are going to read that only 4 of the presenting companies actually have RSS feeds. There's no telling how many more will write about it.

So, are you listening?

Chicago to Delhi

Today, American Airlines launches non-stop service to India's largest city, Delhi from Chicago. It's a 14 and one half hour flight and covers 7,484 miles - the longest of American's operations.

At least AA won't have to compete with the LCCs on this route.

Dinner at 33,000 Feet

Folks never cease to amaze me. Yesterday, I flew from Dallas/Fort Worth to West Palm Beach. After we leveled off at 33,000 ft., meal service began and ended with a soft drink and pretzels. The gentleman next to me decided a nap was in order and he dozed off. Actually, he crashed into such a deep sleep, all my prodding and poking did absolutely no good to jar him to a wakeful state so he'd stop snoring. It's a good thing his head was tilted backward; otherwise there'd be a huge drool pool in his lap.

The guy across the aisle in the window seat boarded with a small styrofoam cup - he was dipping and by the time we landed, it was 75% full - the two ladies next to him must have been totally grossed out.

What is it when people get into crowded situations something happens so that they all together forget about what they're doing and what it might mean to others close by?

The Perfect Gift

Well, maybe not perfect but more and more folks are opting for 'the experience' when they think of the luxury item. Hey, for $1.5M, you get Sir Elton John in a 90 minute private performance. And, you get to keep his red baby grand piano.

Link

Pink Slipped

I found out last Friday that my job has been eliminated along with seven of my coworkers. I can’t say that cuts weren’t expected – we’re going through a team re-definition of sorts and we expected that we’d have to re-apply for a position once the new order was defined. I just don’t think anyone thought the reduction would be as deep as it was. Eight of twelve is pretty severe.

Our last work day is 12/31, so we have until then to find something internally. I guess there is an upside – the folks looking for work are incredibly talented innovators and engineers. Finding a job shouldn’t be difficult and could be down right easy if you happened to know of any possibilities.

I haven’t decided what I’m going to do just yet.