Air India renews contract with GDS provider Amadeus for international sales

Air India has revived its contract with global distribution service (GDS) provider Amadeus for international sales securing substantial discounts in the process, airline sources said.

Airlines use GDS systems like Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport to distribute their tickets to travel agents globally for a fee. The fee is paid for every booking made on the system and a portion of it is shared by GDS with the agents. As a part of its cost cutting drive Air India had in 2018 selected Amadeus rival Travelport as its sole GDS provider in the country. This had sparked protests from local travel agents and also led to law suits against the airline.

Now, Air India has renewed its contract with Amadeus and the move comes as the national carrier expands international flights with additional frequencies to London and Toronto.