'On the Fly' Seminars

WEBINAR: WEATHERING THE TRAVEL-BOOKING STORM

This class is an abbreviated version of the FLY 203 live seminar. It offers an explanation of the current airline data distribution model and the dispute between airlines and third-party travel providers over displaying and booking flights.

The latest conflict began in late 2010, when American Airlines banned Orbitz from booking seats on its flights. In early 2011, Expedia stopped selling American tickets. Meanwhile, Delta removed its data from eight less popular sites. Sabre, the Global Distribution System (GDS) American created more than four decades ago and current owner of Travelocity, announced its intention to drop American data later in the year. In response, American sued and won a court order temporarily blocking Sabre’s move.

This session examines how the current conflict affects travel agencies, companies and individual travelers. It offers specific advice on what they can do to avoid being caught in the crossfire, and to make sure they don’t increase costs and sacrifice convenience and comfort.

The hour-long class features a 45-minute presentation, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session. The fully interactive environment allows participants to “raise hands” when they want to attract the lecturer’s attention, and questions can be asked either in a live chat or by phone.

About the instructor

This class is taught by Nicholas Kralev, founder and CEO of Kralev International LLC, a travel consulting and training company, and former Financial Times and Washington Times correspondent. He has flown almost 2 million miles and visited more than 80 countries. He writes the “On the Fly” column and is the author of the forthcoming book “Travel for Smarties.”