American Airlines and HRG to explore Direct-Connect deal

Global corporate travel giant Hogg Robinson has turned the distribution debate screw just a little tighter by revealing talks are taking place with American Airlines to use the famed Direct-Connect.

Details are sketchy and language carefully chosen in a joint statement released this afternoon by the pair, but both have agreed in principle to explore a long-term agreement so HRG can “would receive guaranteed direct long-term access to American’s fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services”.

Talks appear to be at an early stage, with HRG saying it plans to access American’s inventory and other content through the Direct-Connect platform and using its own technology.

This, HRG says, will be “either directly or via a global distribution system (GDS) application programming interface (API)”.

HRG currently connects to American Airlines through multiple GDSs, depending on the location of the agent, an official says.

The move shouldn’t comes as a huge surprise given the noises HRG CEO David Radcliffe has made in recent months when asked about the ongoing GDS-AA debate.

But the company’s move is in stark contrast to that of fellow business travel agency giant CWT, which has not exactly given the idea of Direct-Connect universal support.

Speaking in June this year, Radcliffe told ABTN:

“I certainly think that if you look down the path, and if you take out the personalities, and you just look at the principal of what the airlines are trying to do…

“They’re not trying to do anything different to any other manufacturer or service industry, or anyone that supplies a product. What they’re trying to do is distribute that product in the way that they want to distribute it.”

Radcliffe has expressed “sympathy” for the GDSs involved in the ongoing row (”probably still the most efficient distribution method that there is”), but says the relationship is “broken” between.

HRG is no small-fish in the debate, having operations in 120 countries around the world.

NB: It will be interesting to hear what the Business Travel Coalition, arguably one of the most vocal of the anti-Direct-Connecters, has to say when the news sinks in.

Tnooz

American Airlines and HRG to explore Direct-Connect deal

Global corporate travel giant Hogg Robinson has turned the distribution debate screw just a little tighter by revealing talks are taking place with American Airlines to use the famed Direct-Connect.

Details are sketchy and language carefully chosen in a joint statement released this afternoon by the pair, but both have agreed in principle to explore a long-term agreement so HRG can “would receive guaranteed direct long-term access to American’s fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services”.

Talks appear to be at an early stage, with HRG saying it plans to access American’s inventory and other content through the Direct-Connect platform and using its own technology.

This, HRG says, will be “either directly or via a global distribution system (GDS) application programming interface (API)”.

HRG currently connects to American Airlines through multiple GDSs, depending on the location of the agent, an official says.

The move shouldn’t comes as a huge surprise given the noises HRG CEO David Radcliffe has made in recent months when asked about the ongoing GDS-AA debate.

But the company’s move is in stark contrast to that of fellow business travel agency giant CWT, which has not exactly given the idea of Direct-Connect universal support.

Speaking in June this year, Radcliffe told ABTN:

“I certainly think that if you look down the path, and if you take out the personalities, and you just look at the principal of what the airlines are trying to do…

“They’re not trying to do anything different to any other manufacturer or service industry, or anyone that supplies a product. What they’re trying to do is distribute that product in the way that they want to distribute it.”

Radcliffe has expressed “sympathy” for the GDSs involved in the ongoing row (”probably still the most efficient distribution method that there is”), but says the relationship is “broken” between.

HRG is no small-fish in the debate, having operations in 120 countries around the world.

NB: It will be interesting to hear what the Business Travel Coalition, arguably one of the most vocal of the anti-Direct-Connecters, has to say when the news sinks in.

Tnooz

American Airlines and HRG to explore Direct-Connect deal

Global corporate travel giant Hogg Robinson has turned the distribution debate screw just a little tighter by revealing talks are taking place with American Airlines to use the famed Direct-Connect.

Details are sketchy and language carefully chosen in a joint statement released this afternoon by the pair, but both have agreed in principle to explore a long-term agreement so HRG can “would receive guaranteed direct long-term access to American’s fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services”.

Talks appear to be at an early stage, with HRG saying it plans to access American’s inventory and other content through the Direct-Connect platform and using its own technology.

This, HRG says, will be “either directly or via a global distribution system (GDS) application programming interface (API)”.

HRG currently connects to American Airlines through multiple GDSs, depending on the location of the agent, an official says.

The move shouldn’t comes as a huge surprise given the noises HRG CEO David Radcliffe has made in recent months when asked about the ongoing GDS-AA debate.

But the company’s move is in stark contrast to that of fellow business travel agency giant CWT, which has not exactly given the idea of Direct-Connect universal support.

Speaking in June this year, Radcliffe told ABTN:

“I certainly think that if you look down the path, and if you take out the personalities, and you just look at the principal of what the airlines are trying to do…

“They’re not trying to do anything different to any other manufacturer or service industry, or anyone that supplies a product. What they’re trying to do is distribute that product in the way that they want to distribute it.”

Radcliffe has expressed “sympathy” for the GDSs involved in the ongoing row (”probably still the most efficient distribution method that there is”), but says the relationship is “broken” between.

HRG is no small-fish in the debate, having operations in 120 countries around the world.

NB: It will be interesting to hear what the Business Travel Coalition, arguably one of the most vocal of the anti-Direct-Connecters, has to say when the news sinks in.

Tnooz

American Airlines serves streaming video from Gogo to US passengers in-flight and after

Streaming movies and TV shows are coming to some American Airlines transcontinental flights in the U.S. — and you can play back the entertainment on your laptop even after you landed.

In partnership with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment provider Gogo, American Airlines officially introduced the initial phase of its Entertainment on Demand product on its fleet of 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft.

The airline had been testing the service since May, but received FAA approval in August.

Gogo, which calls the service Gogo Vision and will be marketing it to other airlines, streams the movies and TV shows from an onboard server to passengers’ Wi-Fi-enabled laptops during the flight.

On American Airlines flights, primarily on routes from JFK to Los Angeles and JFK to San Francisco, passengers pay an introductory price of $ 3.99 per movie and $ 0.99 per TV show. And, you don’t need to purchase inflight Wi-Fi service to view the entertainment.

On American Airlines, you can select the Entertainment on Demand banner on the Wi-Fi homepage, pick your show, log-in, supply your credit card details and then rent the movie or TV show.

The movies will be accessible on your laptop and in your browser for 24 hours and the TV shows for 72 hours so you can view them on the flight and after you land.

A spokeswoman for Gogo says the streaming video service currently works with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and is expected to be rendered compatible with “all consumer tablets” by the first quarter of 2012.

And, if the FAA grants permission, American Airlines plans to expand the service to all of its Wi-Fi-enabled flights before the end of the year.

Here’s an American Airlines video explaining the new service:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_HyK-FgzY

American Airlines says it is the first North American carrier to provide in-flight streaming video service.

Tnooz

American Airlines serves streaming video from Gogo to US passengers in-flight and after

Streaming movies and TV shows are coming to some American Airlines transcontinental flights in the U.S. — and you can play back the entertainment on your laptop even after you landed.

In partnership with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment provider Gogo, American Airlines officially introduced the initial phase of its Entertainment on Demand product on its fleet of 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft.

The airline had been testing the service since May, but received FAA approval in August.

Gogo, which calls the service Gogo Vision and will be marketing it to other airlines, streams the movies and TV shows from an onboard server to passengers’ Wi-Fi-enabled laptops during the flight.

On American Airlines flights, primarily on routes from JFK to Los Angeles and JFK to San Francisco, passengers pay an introductory price of $ 3.99 per movie and $ 0.99 per TV show. And, you don’t need to purchase inflight Wi-Fi service to view the entertainment.

On American Airlines, you can select the Entertainment on Demand banner on the Wi-Fi homepage, pick your show, log-in, supply your credit card details and then rent the movie or TV show.

The movies will be accessible on your laptop and in your browser for 24 hours and the TV shows for 72 hours so you can view them on the flight and after you land.

A spokeswoman for Gogo says the streaming video service currently works with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and is expected to be rendered compatible with “all consumer tablets” by the first quarter of 2012.

And, if the FAA grants permission, American Airlines plans to expand the service to all of its Wi-Fi-enabled flights before the end of the year.

Here’s an American Airlines video explaining the new service:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_HyK-FgzY

American Airlines says it is the first North American carrier to provide in-flight streaming video service.

Tnooz

American Airlines Adds Wireless Movies to All Its 767s [Video]

You can take that issue of SkyMall and choke yourself with it, because (American Airlines) flights are now a little more fun! TechCrunch reports AA is pushing its Gogo streaming video service to all 767s, offering 100 films and episodes. More »

Gizmodo