8/11/06

Its going to end in tears II

Dearly beloved.

Be careful what you wish for… it may come true.

Everyone seemed to be very happy about the deregulation of the US industry for GDS. I too supported the end of Government control with 2 important caveats.

1) Data protection was assured

2) Fair trade was retained under existing FTC type anti-monopoly protection.

So far I am singularly unimpressed with the results of deregulation. My two big concerns have shown to be the Achilles heel of the new arrangements. So we have GDS companies suing airlines. We have subscribers suing GDS companies. We have industry bodies suing GDS. We have even some people suing the airlines. (and don’t get me started on BTC). Litigation in the USA is usually the result of failure to contract properly or the desperate efforts of one party to force its will over another party – direct or indirect. There will be litigation for some time and it will take 6-12 months to finally come to court. I can just see a wide number of lawyers rubbing their hands with glee at this giant (pardon my French) clusterfuck.

Bottom line – I reiterate that I am bearish on GDSs and other intermediaries while being bullish on suppliers.

The only way out of here is to fix the problem yourself. This is no time to hide the head in the sand – but it is a time to reassess the situation and go out there and enable a direct supply chain market place for your company no matter where in the distribution chain you find yourself. Oh yes and T2 can very well advise you on how to solve those problems.

Cheers

Timothy

Timothy J O'Neil-Dunne
Managing Partner - T2Impact Ltd
Global Travel eBusiness
Tel (US) +1 425 836 4770
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