The European Commission has launched its two-month consultation into the proposed de-regulation of the global distribution systems.
The consultation will deal with issues surrounding airline ownership of the GDSs, the distribution of fares in all the systems, likelihood of screen bias displays and if part or full deregulation will lead to increased competition in the sector.
The Coalition for Fair Access to Reservations in Europe – which counts GDSs Sabre and Galileo among its members – has urged the industry to take part in the consultation.
C-fare has launched an online petition to demonstrate their support for reform of the rules. The deadline for submissions is April 27, 2007.
The consultation follows on from full deregulation in the US and a relaxing of the rules in Canada.