GDS Deregulation
Riaan van Schoor and Gary Potter have posted their thoughts on GDS deregulation in the US. Gary concentrates on fares and availability, while Riaan mentions the importance for a Cendant to be a "system and not just a company". I think that the shakeout initiated by the advent of Internet travel agencies, accellerated by 9/11, has made one fundamental change to the travel industry: the world of travel no longer revolves around airlines. Previously, air travel was the key, and airlines drove the market, even attempting a sort of vertical integration by buying car rental and hotel companies (United's failed metamorphosis into Allegis being the hallmark of that age). Now air travel is more of a necessity, but not where the action is; the money to be made is where it should be, in adding value, usually by constructing travel packages. Regulation created an artificial value-add market where one could make good money by simply selling air travel, as a GDS or as a travel agent. That market is gone now; I speculate (not having any hard numbers to back it up) that any business in marketing air travel will be a low-margin business.