AirTran Airways last week began displaying seat maps through Sabre's
Extensible Markup Language (XML) interface, and plans to add additional
booking options through the global distribution system early next year.
Sabre vice president of product marketing Kyle Moore said the XML
interface allows the GDS to display travel content not generally
enabled through traditional legacy systems. Through XML, Sabre can
tap into airlines' Web-based reservations systems and display and sell
air content in a manner closer to how airlines sell and distribute
through their Web sites, Moore said. Though Sabre has been using XML
for years now to link with other travel suppliers, including Expedia
and hotel companies, Moore said AirTran is the first major airline to
adopt the link: "XML is far more flexible than technologies that we and
travel suppliers have used in the past. It allows us to do things that
we previously were not able to do. Carriers can use an XML connection
to sell ancillary services, unbundle fare options and (like AirTran)
show seat maps and more detailed flight information through the global
distribution system. As carriers introduce new things, they're generally
not building them in legacy technologies. This is a platform that can
support traditional types of transactions using new technology or
nontraditional types of transactions in environments in which they
may want them to work." AirTran early next year will launch additional
booking features through Sabre's XML link, according to Moore, who
said that other airlines also are in discussions to hook up through XML. More Information
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