Ernest Joseph M.

Yasin
Evolution of Airline Distribution System
1950-1960

In the 1950s, airlines in the USA and Europe experienced the rapid growth of new customers. At that
time, airlines used archaic, manual systems that opened access to the airlines’ inventory and allowed for
booking tickets via phone calls. A single booking could take about an hour, even more. In 1957, a
meeting of IBM’s salesperson and a former director of American Airlines initiated the development of an
automated reservation tool. They start creating a Semi-automated Business Research Environment or
simply SABRE introduced in 1960.

1970s

By the early 1970s, all the major carriers experimented with bringing the CRS to travel agencies. At the
time, travel agents manually checked their books for flight schedules and fare information, then called
airline ticket agents to inquire about seat availability and reservations. Airlines, platform providers and
the American Society of Travel Agents put forth a major effort to create a unified CRS dubbed the Joint
Industry Computerized Reservation System. Under an exclusive, long-term contract, a CRS provider
would equip the agency with hardware, installation, software and training. They charged a monthly
subscription fee based on usage. Travel agencies, however, wanted access to broad airline content, not
just one airline's. CRS providers saw the opportunity to open their content platforms to other carriers.
Airline deregulation.The landscape in which CRS providers operated changed dramatically in 1978 when
the U.S. government lifted restrictions on fares, route coverage and market entry. Airlines could fly
wherever they wanted and charge whatever they wanted for flights, and airfares and schedules could
fluctuate monthly, weekly or even daily. Passengers now demanded seats at the best prices

1980s

CRSs Regulated The significant capital required to build and maintain a CRS combined with lengthy,
exclusive travel agency contracts resulted in an air distribution market dominated by five CRS providers;
United and American jointly controlled nearly three-quarters of total agency revenue, according to the
widely cited Department of Justice's 1985 Report to Congress on the Airline Computer Reservation
System Industry.

1990s

Global Distribution Systems Emerge & the Internet Changes Everything In 1992, the DOT addressed
gaps in the Civil Aeronautics Board's 1984 rules. The DOT compelled CRS providers to share service
enhancements to their systems with other airlines that were participating in the CRS. It also compelled
the airlines that ran CRSs to participate in competing CRSs, as well. CRS providers' contracts with travel
agencies had to permit agencies to purchase their own equipment and use any given terminal to access
more than one system. CRSs gained more influence as independent and increasingly global entities.
Major airline mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies formed mega carriers that expanded into global
markets. With routes covering the world, CRSs transformed into today's global distribution systems:
Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan. Corporate travel agencies that specialized in complex and
often international business travel itineraries depended heavily on GDSs to serve their clients.