In travel, “global distribution” has a specific meaning. A global distribution system sits between the companies that sell travel and the agencies and tools that book it. Instead of connecting separately to hundreds of airlines and hotel groups, an agency connects once to a GDS and searches all of them through it.
How does a GDS work?
Airlines publish schedules and file fares through industry channels such as ATPCO, and the GDS combines that data with live availability from each supplier’s reservation system. When an agent or booking tool runs a search, the GDS returns options from many suppliers in a consistent format. When a booking is made, the GDS creates a passenger name record (PNR) and sends the reservation to each supplier involved, which records it in its own system.
A single GDS record can therefore hold a flight from one airline, a hotel from another company and a car rental, all under one record locator, while each supplier keeps its own reference for its part of the trip.
Who are the major GDS providers?
- Amadeus, founded in 1987 by Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and SAS.
- Sabre, which grew out of the reservation system American Airlines developed with IBM.
- Travelport, which launched Travelport+ in 2021, the platform previously known as Galileo, and also runs the Apollo and Worldspan systems.
How is GDS distribution paid for?
The traditional GDS model charges suppliers a transaction fee for each booking made through it, and the GDS in turn pays travel agencies incentives tied to their booking volume, counted in transactions such as flight segments. This is why distribution cost has become a point of tension: airlines pay for bookings that come through the GDS, while agencies have a reason to keep using it.
What does NDC change for the GDS?
GDS airline content has historically been exchanged using EDIFACT, an older messaging standard, with the GDS building offers from the fares, schedules and availability that airlines file. New Distribution Capability (NDC) is an XML standard launched by IATA that lets airlines build their own offers and send richer content — ancillaries such as seats and bags, promotional fares, photos and personalised offers — to sellers, either directly or through intermediaries, including GDS providers.
NDC does not necessarily remove the GDS: the major providers carry NDC content alongside their classic EDIFACT content. What changes is that some airlines now remove certain fares from the GDS or make some content available only through NDC. A booking tool that reads only classic GDS content can miss prices that exist in the market, while one that reads NDC content has to allow for the fact that NDC capabilities, including exchanges and refunds, differ from airline to airline.
| Compared on | Classic GDS content | NDC content |
|---|---|---|
| Message standard | EDIFACT | XML, to the NDC standard launched by IATA |
| Who builds the offer | The GDS, from the fares, schedules and availability airlines file | The airline |
| What an offer can include | Filed fares and fare rules, with any brands and ancillaries the airline has filed | The airline’s full range, including ancillaries, promotional fares, photos and personalised offers |
| How it reaches sellers | Through a GDS | Directly from the airline, or through intermediaries including GDSs |
| Exchanges and refunds | Standardised, using the fare rules airlines file | Capabilities differ from airline to airline |
Why does the GDS matter for corporate travel programmes?
For most organisations the GDS is invisible — it sits behind the travel management company and the booking tool. It becomes visible when prices differ between channels, when negotiated fares fail to display, or when changes made directly with an airline do not reach the agency record. Asking a travel management company which content sources it connects to, and how it combines GDS and NDC content, is a practical way to understand what travellers are actually seeing.
Related terms, including CRS, NDC and PNR, are defined in the travel technology lexicon.