A Global Distribution System (GAS) differs from an airline CRY in one critical aspect, a GAS holds no inventory of it's own. The inventory is held in various airline reservation systems. The GAS system has links to all major airline CRY, when a travel agency terminal requests a reservation on the service of a particular airline the GAS system routes the request to the appropriate airline Computer Reservation System.

This enables a travel agent with a connection to a single GAS to book flights and associated services on virtually all the airlines in the world.The major GAS systems re Amadeus, Saber, Apollo, Galileo, Workloads, Abacus and Infix. A mirror image of the Passenger Name Record in the Airline Reservation System is maintained in the GAS system. If a passenger books an itinerary containing air segments of multiple airlines through a travel agency, the Passenger Name Record in the GAS system would hold information on his entire itinerary, each airline he flies on would only have a portion of the itinerary that is relevant to them.This would be most often the segments on their own services and inbound and onward connecting flights (known as info segments) of other airlines in the itinerary.

. G. If a passenger books a Journey from Amsterdam to London on KILL, London to New York on British Airways, Newark to Frankfurt on Lufthansa through a travel agent and if the travel agent is connected to Amadeus GAS. The VPN in the Amadeus GAS would contain the full itinerary, the VPN in KILL would show the Amsterdam to London segment along with British Airways flight as an onward info segment.

Likewise the VPN in the Lufthansa system would show the New York to Frankfurt segment with the British Airways flight as an arrival info segment. The VPN in British Airways system would show all three segments. One as a live segment and the other two as arrival and onward info segments. Some GAS systems (primarily Amadeus and Saber) also have a dual use capability for hosting multiple Computer Reservation System, in such situations functionally the Computer Reservation System and the GAS partition of the system behave as if they were separate systems. . ABACUS Abacus is a global distribution system (GAS) only used by travel agencies in Asia.

It is operated by Abacus International Pet, Ltd. , which is headquartered in Singapore and which is owned by Saber Holdings and eleven Asian airlines; All Nippon Airways, Catchy Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Airways, Guard Indonesia, Dragon air, Philippine Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunet Airlines and Silk Air. Vide com IVR is fully integrated with Abacus GAS with Type A Edi fact links which give travel agents interactive functionality.Both Vide com and Abacus E-ticket databases are fully integrated providing airlines hosted on Vide com with full DATA BSP E-ticket distribution. 3 . GALILEO Galileo was founded in 1993 by 11 major North American and European airlines: Are Lingua, Air Canada, Altair, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, KILL Royal Dutch Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Sassier, TAP Air Portugal, United Airlines, and US Airways.

It is a major player in the GAS business throughout the world: North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia/Pacific region.Galileo is a diversified, 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 agency and reporter customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. In 1997, Galileo became a publicly traded company, listed on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges.Currently, the company is represented in 116 countries, and serves travel agencies at approximately 45,000 locations.

Other travel suppliers include 500 airlines, 227 hotel companies, 33 car rental companies, and 368 tour operators. Galileo competitive strengths include market share, well-balanced and global presence, relationships with diverse groups of travel vendors, technologically advanced information systems, highly skilled personnel, and a stable product line. Compared to other GAS companies, Galileo is a cautious follower when it comes to technology.However, in response to the growing demand of web-based travel, the company has established successful relationships with entities such as Go, Auk's best low-cost airline; subsidiaries such as Higher, Inc. , providing Internet-based tools and services to the corporate travel market; and Shepherd Systems, an industry leader in the provision of sales and marketing intelligence systems and services within the travel industry.

Additionally, Galileo has sponsored membership to the THROWorldwide Negotiated Hotel Rates Program, and has a state-of-the-art development center supplying information and systems support to travel agencies operating more than 178,000 computer terminals, all of which are linked to the Galileo Data Center. Galileo primary weakness, its singular focus on the distribution side of the business, is also its perceived strength. Based on its competitive strengths, Galileo is pursuing a strategy that includes expanding its global distribution, strengthening customer loyalty, leveraging technology, and capitalizing on opportunities created by increasing Internet use.Galileo sees the GAS industry as having the ability and potential to provide electronic distribution and many components of e-commerce to other industries, and is utilizing its strengths to provide expanding services to its growing customer base. 4.

Amadeus Amadeus is a leading global distribution system and technology provider serving the marketing, sales, and distribution needs of the world's travel and tourism industries. Its comprehensive data network and database, among the largest of their kind in Europe, serve more than 57,000 travel agency locations and more than 10,500 airline ales offices in some 200 markets worldwide.The system can also provide access to approximately 58,000 hotels and 50 car rental companies serving some 24,000 locations, as well as other provider groups, including ferry, rail, cruise, insurance, and tour operators. Upon its inception, Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and ASS held equal shares of Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S. A. Shortly after the formation of the company, however, ASS sold its shares to Amadeus Data Processing.

As the youngest of the four GAS companies, Amadeus has done remarkably well during its short inure. Yet, in many ways, the company remains an anomaly.Amadeus has the greatest number of travel agency locations with the highest productivity per terminal in the world, yet its booking share is Number 3, and its revenues are dwarfed by Saber and, too lesser degree, by Galileo. While the company is Number 1 in locations worldwide, serving the greatest number of countries, it provides the fewest U. S.

Destinations of the top four Gags. As with its competitors, the future for Amadeus will continue to be linked to the technological and structural changes that are evolutionism the travel industry. Amadeus appears to be adapting well (albeit cautiously) to the shift of business to the Internet.Having acquired e-Travel, Inc. From Oracle Corporation in July of 2001, Amadeus now has a new business unit dedicated to delivering solutions to e-commerce players worldwide. The e-Travel solutions integrate all components of a managed travel program into a single Internet-based service that enables travelers to book air, car, hotel, and rail services, all within corporate guidelines.

With its strong company infrastructure worldwide, impressive reduce set, and growing customer base, Amadeus is one of the most significant players in shaping the future of the GAS. 5.Workloads Founded February 7, 1990, Workloads was originally owned by affiliates of Delta Air Lines, Inc. , Northwest Airlines, and Trans World Airlines, Inc. Since its 1995 advance into the world of Internet technology for the travel industry, Workloads has successfully developed the strategies, solutions, and services to ensure the company's long-term success in the new web-based world of travel distribution.

Workloads provides worldwide electronic distribution of travel information, Internet rodents and connectivity, and e-commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers, and corporations.Workloads currently serves 20,021 travel agencies in nearly 90 countries and territories. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Workloads connects approximately 421 airlines, 210 hotel companies, 40 car rental companies, 39 tour and vacation operators, and 44 special travel service suppliers. To escalate the delivery of web-based technologies and services to its customers; Workloads has forged a number of new partnerships and equity agreements with leading travel technology companies.Resulting technologies, Joint developments, and an expanded realm of solutions and Internet travel products are enabling the company and its customers to participate in a spectrum of e-business opportunities.

Some of the successful partnerships have been with companies such as Totaled, a leading provider of e-business infrastructure and solutions for the global travel industry; Digital Travel, a global online tour provider; Kinetics, Inc. , developer of technology and solutions for the airline industry; Pentacle. Mom, an Internet- enabled restaurant management tools system; and Aviator, a major provider of Internet-based content, technology, and distribution services, including data management, hosting, and e-commerce.. Workloads has a legacy of industry firsts that are not well known.

The company therefore has an opportunity to raise the industry awareness of its accomplishments and more importantly, its future strategy. Workloads continues to look at benefits of creating its own consumer brand and has been partnering with different companies to expand the services that it can provide to its customer base.Workloads believes in focusing on its core competencies, and is determined to be received as a distribution facilitator across all channels. It is increasingly getting a clearer sense of its capabilities and building its appetite for technical and commercial challenges. Through the company's revolutionary e-world ideas, offerings, and services, along with its agility and eagerness in meeting the needs of the travel distribution market on a global scale, Workloads and its customers are transforming the way travel is distributed, bought, and sold.

6. APOLLO Air Moldavia airline has implemented issuance of electronic tickets (e-ticketing) viaApollo global distribution system that is highly popular between travel agencies in USA. This fact was possible by cooperation with Travelogue Company, a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry. The company is composed of the global distribution system (GAS) business, that includes the Apollo, Workloads and Galileo brands; and Airline IT Solutions, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines.Implementation of electronic ticket by Air Moldavia, ARC member (Airline Reporting Corporation), in Apollo GAS will increase airlines sales channels on north American market by granting the access to its transportation for more agents based in there business Apollo GAS. Electronic ticket can be booked and paid via internet or at the agency's desk.

The biggest difference from standard paper ticket is virtually. Electronic ticket cannot be lost, the issuing propose is easier, quicker and cheaper. At the check-in in the airport the passenger can Just say his name and offer his passport.The itinerary, flight number, fare, service class - all this information is created and hold in carter's computerized database. The list of flights currently carried out by Air Moldavia includes 21 direct flights to Frankfurt, Vienna, Prague, Lisbon, Madrid, Bucharest, Istanbul, London, Athens, Larch, Rome, Milan, Verona, Paris, Moscow, SST.

-Petersburg, Munich, Kiev, Mentally, Verna and Socio. The company offers Economy and Business Class Services. 7. Saber For more than 40 years, Saber has been developing innovations and transforming the business of travel.From the original Saber computer reservations system in the sass, to advanced airline yield management systems in the sass, to leading travel web sites today, Saber technology has traveled through time, around the world, and has touched all points of the travel industry.

In July of 1996, Saber became a separate legal entity of MAR (parent company of American Airlines), followed by a successful initial public offering in October in which MAR released approximately 18% of its shares to be publicly traded.Saber, represented in 45 countries, is a leading provider of technology for the travel industry and provides innovative products that enable ravel commerce and services, and enhance airline/supplier operations. Headquartered in Southeast, Texas, Saber connects more than 60,000 travel agency locations around the world, providing content from approximately 400 airlines, 55,000 hotel properties, 52 car rental companies, 9 cruise lines, 33 railroads, and 229 tour operators.In addition to being one of the leading GAS companies, Saber also provides a broad range of products and services that enhance travel agency operations and their ability to serve the traveler. Saber-connected travel agencies use Saber web- based technologies and low-fare finding solutions to create new sales opportunities, drive operational efficiencies, and improve customer service.

Among the company's recent innovations is Saber Virtually There, a personalized web site service that automatically gives travelers up-to-the-minute details about itineraries, while also providing a wealth of information about their destinations.Saber owns Traceability. Com, the industry leading online consumer travel web site. Traceability. Com offers innovative technologies that help consumers find the best air, car, hotel, and vacation reservations. Saber also owns Get There, a provider of web- eased corporate travel procurement, including the purchase of air, hotel, car, and meeting planning services.

Customers include more than 800 leading corporations.Saber's competitive strengths include market position, global reach, stable product line, diversification of revenue streams, and intellectual capital. The Saber business model is a strong one, and continues to make significant progress in advancing both its electronic travel distribution and its information technology solutions businesses. Revenues have been growing steadily, and the company has embarked on a strategy hat fully embraces diversification of its customer base and revenue streams.

Saber is considered to be one of the most significant and competitive Gags due to the fact that it anticipates and takes advantage of the changes in the information economy and develops innovative practices, leveraging both human resources and technology systems. 8. Conclusion. 9. References. Http://www.

Video. Com/abacus-gas. Asps http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/Abacus_(GAS) http://www.

Armload. MD/news-records-en/2340/ http://hotel-online. Com/News/PROPER_4th/Octet_GAS. HTML 10. Photos