Sabre Travel Network and Lufthansa reach global full content agreement

The Sabre system will become a Lufthansa 'preferred GDS' and all the airline's standard fares and inventory will be available - without any surcharge - to any travel agency around the world, including online travel agencies, using the Sabre global distribution system (GDS).

According to Lufthansa's current distribution policies and through the corresponding channels, Lufthansa's Web fares and Privilege Fares will also be available in the Sabre system to any travel agency that has met the airline's criteria to sell these fares.

Sabre Travel Network now has full-content agreements with nearly 280 airlines.

"The Sabre GDS is a highly valued channel for the worldwide distribution of our products and is an efficient marketplace for the distribution of all our fares, including Web fares and those for our premium cabin services,"

said Josef Bogdanski, senior vice president of sales, Germany and global key accounting of Lufthansa Passenger Airline. "With this agreement, we can lower our distribution costs to be able to continue our cost-efficient partnership with Sabre."

"We are delighted to announce this agreement with Lufthansa, a valued customer and a long-standing participant in the Sabre GDS," said Richard Adams, Sabre Travel Network's senior vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "The agreement recognises how Sabre has evolved its business model to become a valuable global partner for Lufthansa, helping it to reach customers through every channel of travel marketing, sales and distribution."

Lufthansa also works closely with the other Sabre Holdings businesses, Travelocity and Sabre Airline Solutions. Separately, it has extended its co-operative agreement with Travelocity and lastminute.com and a full compliment of Lufthansa Web fares and other special deals continue to be made available on these leading online travel sites.

The airline uses operational and decision-support products from Sabre Airline Solutions to help market itself, sell its products, serve its customers and operate its flights. These include fleet management and aircraft assignment tools to help ensure that market demand throughout the airline's network is met with the best aircraft types in the right places at the right times. It is using the Guide*Res reservation tool based on the latest Sabre QIK Solutions technology, as well as the Sabre CargoMax revenue management tool to optimise load and yields. Sabre AirServ Solutions in-flight catering management offering is also used by its LSG SkyChefs subsidiary, the leading provider of catering services to the airline industry.