Recently, Turkish Airlines announced that their fares will no longer be available for booking on the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) starting from September 1st. This decision has sparked a debate between the airline and Sabre, with each party blaming the other for the failure to reach a content agreement.
On one hand, Turkish Airlines’ general manager for Los Angeles and Denver, Cemal Kaya, expressed disappointment in Sabre’s lack of reciprocity towards their efforts to continue participating in the GDS under similar conditions as with other partners. Turkish Airlines plans to make their inventory available on other GDS platforms going forward.
In contrast, Sabre stated that despite their intense efforts, they were unable to reach mutually beneficial and commercially reasonable terms with Turkish Airlines. As a result, the airline chose to discontinue distributing its content through Sabre. This move aligns with Turkish Airlines’ plans to launch their New Distribution Capability (NDC) program, TK Connect, in October.
With Turkish Airlines implementing a surcharge for legacy GDS bookings and removing some low-fare content from these systems, travel advisors using Amadeus and Travelport reservation systems, as well as third-party aggregators, will have access to the airline’s NDC content. Additionally, Turkish Airlines’ content will be available through direct connect and a booking portal.
Amadeus and Travelport are currently in negotiations with Turkish Airlines for new content agreements. While Amadeus declined to provide an update, it was mentioned during the company’s Q2 earnings call that discussions with Turkish were ongoing. Travel Weekly has also reached out to Travelport for an update on the status of their content agreement with Turkish.
Despite the current situation, both Turkish Airlines and Sabre remain hopeful of reaching an agreement to restore the airline’s flight inventory on the GDS. The outcome of these negotiations will be crucial in determining the future of fare distribution for Turkish Airlines and the convenience of booking their flights for travel advisors and passengers alike.
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