Sabre, British Airways Sign Three-Year Agreement

Sabre Travel Network and British Airways have signed a new three-year global distribution agreement, providing agencies and corporations around the world with continued access to the airline’s full content and inventory via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). It went into effect April 1.

Through this new agreement, Sabre-connected agencies will continue to access all of British Airways’ published fares and inventory including those sold through other direct and indirect channels. The opt-in levels previously established by Sabre for the U.K. and Ireland remain unchanged.

British Airways will work with Sabre to introduce the sale of these ancillary travel products through the GDS. Corporations and agencies will be able to complete the sale using a new functionality based on industry technology standards known as Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD).

This new solution has been adopted by the travel industry to allow agents to sell, report on and accept payments for ancillary products. It ensures that travelers are clear about their options, and integrates into an agency’s existing back-office system. EMD is compatible with global financial settlement organizations Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP).