Information Technology for Travel and Tourism – Amit Kundu

Unit 3
Computer Networking Concepts, Information Systems, CRS for Airlines, Study of
different packages viz. Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre etc. (anyone package available).

COMPUTER NETWORK
The concept of network is not new, in simple terms it means an interconnected set
of some objects and by computer network we mean an interconnected set of
autonomous computers. The term autonomous implies that the computers can
function independent from others.
A network is simply collection of computers or other hardware devices that are
connected together, either physically or logically, using special hardware and
software, to allow them to exchange information and cooperate. Networking is the
term that describes the processes involved in designing, implementing, upgrading
and managing a computer network.

History
The history of electronic computers is not very old. It came into existence in the
early
1950 and during the first two decades of its existence it remained as a centralized
system housed in a single large room. In those days the computers were large in
size and
were operated by trained personnel.
After the invention of microprocessors in the early 1970s, the computers became
smaller in size and less expensive. With significant increase in processing power,
new breed of low-cost computers known as mini and personal computers were
introduced. Instead of having a single central computer, an organization could now
afford to own a number of computers located in different departments and sections.
The bandwidth was clearly a problem and in the late 1970s and early 80s another
new communication technique known as Local Area Networks (LANs) evolved, which
helped computers to communicate at high speed over a small geographical area. In
later years use of optical fiber and satellite communication allowed high-speed data
communications over long distances.

Classification Based on Size

1) Local Area Network (LAN)

A network is said to be Local Area Network (LAN) if it is confined relatively to a small
area. It is generally limited to a building or a geographical area, expanding not more
than a mile apart to other computers.
LAN configuration consists of:
A file server: Stores all of the software that controls the network, as well as
the software that can be shared by the computers attached to the network.
 A workstation: Computers connected to the tile server (Mac or PCs). These
are less powerful than the file server.

2) Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) covers larger geographic areas, such as cities
(often used by local libraries and government agencies often to connect to citizens
and private industries.

3) Wide Area Network (WAN)

Wide Area Network (WANs) connect larger geographic areas such as London, the UK,
or the world. In this type of network dedicated transoceanic cabling or satellite
uplinks may he used.

4) Personal Area Network (PAN)

Personal Area Network generally means a very small LAN with range of only a few
feet. Intended mostly to connect together devices used by a single person or very
small group. The term is most commonly used in reference to Bluetooth or IEEE
802.15 wireless technology.
Terminology
• Administrator: The person responsible for a network's operations. Including
installing network components, providing access to users and troubleshooting.
• Account: A username and password given to each user of a network. Networks
grant access to files and services based on the rights given to the user’s account.
• Client: A computer that connects to a network and accesses files, printers, or
other services offered by a server.
• Server: A computer that offers one or more services to the network and runs a
NOS.
• Network Operating System (NOS): A piece of software, such as Windows NT
server or Norell Netware, that enables a computer to act as a network server.
• Workstation: A non-server computer attached to a network.
• Node: Any computer or other device connected to a network. Nodes include
workstation, servers and devices such as printers.
• Internet: A global network that evolved from the US department of Defense's
ARPANET project.
• Internetwork: A large network consisting of various small networks connected
together by WAN links or faster local links. This type of network is also referred to as
an internet (not to be confused with Internet).
• Protocol: A set of rules for communication between network components. A
functioning network requires that all nodes understand the same set of protocols.

Network Types
• Server-Based Networks: Also called client-server networks, files and printers on
this computer are made available to network workstations, called clients.
A server-based network's main benefit is in centralization. The server provides a
central control point for network access, security and management. The
disadvantages of a server-based network are the higher cost of dedicated servers
and network OS, and the greater administrative effort required.
• Peer-to-Peer Networks: A peer-to-peer network consists solely of workstations
called peers. Each workstation can be used by a user and can also make shared files
or printers available to the users at other workstations. This system is better suited
to smaller networks. The advantages of peer networks include their ease of
installation and use. They are also less expensive than server-based networks
because a dedicated server is not required. The main disadvantage of peer networks
is the lack of central control.

COMMUNICATION METHODS

Connection-oriented
Connection-oriented protocols establish a connection, or virtual circuit, before
communicating and disconnect it when finished. Connection-oriented protocols
generally have a lower speed due to the bandwidth used for session maintenance.

1) Twisted pair Cable

• Unshielded Twisted Pair - UTP is the most common type of Network cable
in use today. UTP consists of one or more pair of insulated copper wires.
 The wires are twisted together to reduce crosstalk and enclosed in a
plastic insulator. UTP cables are generally Wired using RJ-45 jacks and
plugs. These are 8-conductor connectors similar to RJ-11 connectors
used in telephone cables. UTP is inexpensive and easy to install
compared With other types of cable. UTP is the type of cable used in
telephone system.
• Shielded Twisted Pair - STP cable is similar to UTP but includes a foil or
wire mesh shield between the wire pairs and the outer insulation. The
shield is electrically grounded, and reduce emissions and susceptibility
to EMI. STP cable is used in some Token ring and Apple Talk Networks.
STP is more expensive than UTP, and its thickness and rigidity make it
more difficult to install. It also uses special grounded connectors, adding
to the expense.

2) Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable consists of a single thick copper wire surrounded by an insulator. A
shield surrounding the insulator is used as the second conductor, and is encased in
an outer insulation. The shielding makes coaxial less susceptible to EMI and
emissions than UTP. Thin coaxial cable is less expensive than the highest quality (cat
5) UTP, but is more difficult to install due to its thickness, its lack of flexibility and
the connectors used.

3) Fiber Optic
A fiber optic cable consists of thin glass or clear plastic fiber encased in a protective
jacket signals are sent through the cable in the form of light. There are two types of
fiber optic cable: Single mode, which uses a single wavelength, and multimode,
which uses multiple wavelengths in the same cable. The advantages of fiber are high
bandwidth (up to 2Gbps) and extremely low attenuation.
Connection-less
Connection less protocols does not establish a virtual circuit. Data is sent without
establishing a connection and may be sent at any time. These protocols have low
overhead, and are generally used where speed is a high priority.

1) Infrared: Wireless infrared networking systems use modulated beams of infrared

light to transmit data. These types of networks require a line-of-sight, and are
generally used for short distances.
There are two types of infrared networks
- Point-to-point networks use a focused beam, usually generated by a laser.
Bandwidth can be as high as 16 Mbps.
- Broadcast networks use a less focused beam that disperses rapidly. Bandwidth is
usually no more than 1 Mbps.

2) Radio: The most common type of wireless networks use radio waves. Radio-
based networks have a reasonably high bandwidth, but are very sensitive to EMI and
eavesdropping. Many radio frequencies are regulated by the FCC, and are
unavailable for use without a license.
There are three basic types of radio links:
•Low power single frequency
•High power single frequency
•Spread-spectrum

3) Microwave: Another type of wireless communication uses microwaves, which are

similar to radio waves but at a higher frequency. Two common types of microwave
networks are:
• Terrestrial: This method provides for line-of-sight communications, usually across a
short distance. Bandwidth can be as high as 10 Mbps.
• Satellite: This method relays microwave transmissions via a satellite, allowing for a
nearby global range. Bandwidth can, be as high as 10 Mbps.
Network Topologies
A network topology is the configuration, or shape, of the wiring used in the network.
Each type of network has physical topology (the actual wiring) and a logical topology
(the path data follows).

1. Bus: In a bus topology, a single cable supports an entire network segment. This
cable is the bus, sometimes called a backbone. Nodes are attached at various points
along the cable. Depending on the network architecture, nodes may be connected
directly to the bus with T-connectors, or a cable called a drop cable can be
connected between the bus and each node.
The bus topology is usually inexpensive for smaller networks. The chief
disadvantage of a bus topology is that a break at any point in the bus will bring the
network down.

2. Star: In a star topology, each node is connected with its own cable to a central
device called a hub. The hub internally connects each node to the other nodes.
It is more reliable than bus because each node has its own cable. They are also
easier to expand, since a new node can be wired to the hub without disconnecting
other nodes.
3. Ring: In a ring topology, the nodes are connected to each other to form a circle.
Each node receives signals from its upstream neighbor, and passes them onto its
downstream neighbor.
The main disadvantage of a ring topology is the same as a bus: a single node's
failure can disrupt the entire network. Ring networks can also be difficult to
troubleshoot and expand.
4. Mesh: A mesh topology provides fault tolerance through redundant links. In this
system, each node is connected to every other node with separate cables.
The main advantage of this system is a high degree of reliability. The obvious
disadvantage is that mesh topologies require large amounts of cable, making them
very expensive to install and expand.
5. Hybrid: A hybrid topology is any combination of the above topologies. One
common hybrid topology is a star bus, in which several star-wired network segments
are interconnected with a bus.
Another hybrid topology is a star ring, in which the wiring forms a star topology, but
the hub is intentionally connected as a ring.

Project Iridium
In 1990 Motorola broke new ground by filing an application with the FCC asking for
permission to launch 77 low-orbit satellites for the Iridium project (element 77 is
Iridium). The plan was later revised to use only 66 satellites,
The idea was that as soon as one satellite went out of view. Another would replace
it. This proposal set off a feeding frenzy among other communication companies. All
of a sudden, everyone wanted to launch a chain of low-orbiting satellites.
After seven years of cobbling together partners and financing, the partners launched
the Iridium satellites in 1997. Communication service began in December 1998.
Unfortunately, the commercial demand for large, heavy satellite telephones was
negligible because the mobile phone network had grown spectacularly since 1990.
As a consequence, Iridium was not profitable and was forced into bankruptcy in
August 1999 in one of the most spectacular corporate fiasco in history.
The satellites and other assets (worth $5 billion) were subsequently purchased by an
investor for $25 million at a kind of extraterrestrial garage sale. The Iridium service
was restarted in March 2001.
Iridium's business was (and is) providing worldwide telecommunication services
using hand-held devices that communicate directly with the Iridium satellites. It
provides voice, data, paging, fax, and navigation service everywhere on land, sea
and air. Customers include the maritime, aviation, and oil exploration industries, as
well as people traveling in parts of the world lacking a telecommunications
infrastructure (e.g., deserts, mountains, jungles, and some Third World countries).
The Iridium satellites are positioned at an altitude of 750 km, in circular orbits. They
are arranged in north-south necklaces; with one satellite every degrees of latitude.
With six satellite necklaces, the entire earth is covered, as suggested by the figure
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
An information system (IS) is any combination of information technology and
people's activities using that technology to support operations, management, and
decision-making. In a very broad sense, the term information system is frequently
used to refer to the interaction between people, algorithmic processes, data and
technology. In this sense, the term is used to refer not only to the information and
communication technology (ICT) an organization uses, but also to the way in which
people interact with this technology in support of business processes.
A work system is a system in which humans and/or machines perform work using
resources (including ICT) to produce specific products and/or services for customers.
An information system is a work system whose activities are devoted to processing
(capturing, transmitting, storing, retrieving, manipulating and displaying)
information.
Information system as an example of a system concerned with the manipulation
of signs. An information system is a type of socio-technical system. An information
system is a mediating construct between actions and technology. As such,
information systems inter-relate with data systems on the one hand and activity
systems on the other. An information system is a form of communication system in
which data represent and are processed as a form of social memory. An
information system can also be considered a semi-formal language which
supports human decision making and action.

Use of Information System

Information system is an integrated set of components for collecting, storing,
processing, and communicating information. Business firms, other organizations,
and individuals in contemporary society rely on information systems to manage their
operations, compete in the marketplace, supply services, and augment personal
lives. For instance, modern corporations rely on computerized information systems
to process financial accounts and manage human resources; municipal
governments rely on information systems to provide basic services to its citizens;
and individuals use information systems to study, shop, bank, and invest.

Importance of Information System

The emergence of a global economy, transformation of industrial economies,
transformation of the business enterprise, and the emergence of digital firm make
information systems essential in business today. Information system is a foundation
for conducting business today. In many businesses, survival and the ability to
achieve strategic business goals is difficult without extensive use of information
technology. There are six reasons or objectives why businesses use information
system:
1. Operational excellence. Business improves the efficiency of their operations in
order to achieve higher profitability. Information systems are important tools
available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and productivity in
business operations. A good example is Wal-Mart that uses a Retail Link system,
which digitally links its suppliers to every one of Wal-Mart's stores. As soon as a
customer purchase an item, the supplier is monitoring the item , knows to ship a
replacement to the shelf.
2. New products, services, and business models. Information system is a major
tool for firms to create new products and services, and also an entirely new business
models. A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a
product or service to create wealth.
Example: Apple Inc transformed an old business model based on its iPod technology
platform that included iPod, the iTunes music service, and the iPhone.
3. Customer/supplier intimacy. When a business serves its customers well, the
customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more. This raises revenue
and profits. The more a business engages its suppliers, the better the suppliers can
provide vital inputs, this lowers costs. Example: The Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan
and other high-end hotels exemplify the use of information systems and technology
to achieve customer intimacy. They use computers to keep track of guests'
preferences, such as their preferred room temperature, check-in time, and television
programs.
4. Improved decision making. Many managers operate in an information bank,
never having the right information at the right time to make an informed decision.
These poor outcomes raise costs and lose customers. Information system made it
possible for the managers to use real time data from the marketplace when making
decision. Example: Verizon Corporation uses a Web-based digital dashboard to
provide managers with precise real -time information on customer complaints and
network performance. Using this information managers can immediately allocate
repair resources to affected areas, inform customers of repair efforts and restore
service fast.
5. Competitive advantage. When firms achieve one or more of these business
objectives (operational excellence, new products, services, and business models,
customer/supplier intimacy, and improved decision making) chances are they have
already achieved a competitive advantage. Doing things better than your
competitors, charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and
suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales, and higher profits. Example: Toyota
Production System focuses on organizing work to eliminate waste, making continues
improvements, TPS is based on what customers have actually ordered.
6. Day to day survival. Business firms invest in information system and technology
because they are necessities of doing business. These necessities are driven by
industry level changes. Example: Citibank introduced the first automatic teller
machine to attract customers through higher service levels, and its competitors
rushed to provide ATM's to their customers to keep up with Citibank. Providing ATMs
services to retail banking customers is simply a requirement of being in and
surviving in the retail banking business. Firms turn to information system and
technology to provide the capability to respond to these.

Information systems are the foundation for conducting business today. In many
industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is inconceivable,
and IT plays a critical role in increasing productivity. Although information
technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with complementary
changes in organization and management, it can provide the foundation for new
products, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a
strategic advantage.
Components
It consists of computers, instructions, stored facts, people and procedures.

CRS FOR AIRLINES

Computer Reservations System (CRS) is a computerized system used to store and

retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel. Originally
designed and operated by airlines, CRSes were later extended for the use of travel
agencies. Major CRS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple airlines are
known as global distribution systems (GDS). Airlines have divested most of their
direct holdings to dedicated GDS companies, who make their systems accessible to
consumers through Internet gateways. Modern GDSes typically allow users to
book hotel rooms and rental cars as well as airline tickets.

History
In 1953, Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) started investigating a computer-based system
with remote terminals, testing one design on the University of Toronto's Manchester
Mark 1 machine. The resulting system, ReserVec, started operation in 1962, and
took over all booking operations in January 1963. Terminals were placed in all of
TCA's ticketing offices, allowing all queries and bookings to complete in about one
second with no remote operators needed.
In 1953, American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith chanced to sit next to R. Blair Smith, a
senior IBM sales representative, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. C.R.
invited Blair to visit their Reservisor system and look for ways that IBM could
improve the system. Their idea of an automated Airline Reservation System (ARS)
resulted in a 1959 venture known as the Semi-Automatic Business Research
Environment (SABRE), launched the following year. By the time the network was
completed in December 1964, it was the largest civil data processing system in the
world.
Other airlines soon established their own systems. Delta Air Lines launched the Delta
Automated Travel Account System (DATAS) in 1968. United Airlines and Trans World
Airlines followed in 1971 with the Apollo Reservation System and Programmed
Airline Reservation System (PARS), respectively. Soon, travel agents began pushing
for a system that could automate their side of the process by accessing the various
ARSes directly to make reservations.
Also in 1976 Videcom international with British Airways, British Caledonian and CCL
launched Travicom, the world's first multi-access reservations system (wholly based
on Videcom technology), forming a network providing distribution for initially 2 and
subsequently 49 subscribing international to thousands of travel agents in the UK. It
allowed agents and airlines to communicate via a common distribution language and
network, handling 97% of UK airline business trade bookings by 1987. The system
went on to be replicated by Videcom in other areas of the World Travicom was a
trading name for Travel Automation Services Ltd. When BA (who by then owned
100% of Travel Automation Services Ltd) chose to participate in the development of
the Galileo system launched in 1993. Travicom changed its' trading name to
Galileo UK and a migration process was put in place to move agencies from
Travicom to Galileo.
European airlines also began to invest in the field in the 1980s initially by deploying
their own reservations systems in their homeland, propelled by growth in demand
for travel as well as technological advances which allowed GDSes to offer ever-
increasing services and searching power. In 1987, a consortium led by Air
France and West Germany's Lufthansa developed Amadeus, modeled on System
One. Amadeus Global Travel Distribution was launched in 1992.

Name Created by Also used by

Amadeus  Air France  Online travel agencies including
 Iberia  Anyfares
 Lufthansa  CheapOair
 SAS  ebookersr
 CheapTickets
 Expedia
 Flights
 Opodor
 Jetabroad
 Tripsetc
 Air-Savings
 Over 500 individual airlines
 Over 120 individual airline websites
 Over 99,000 travel agencies in more than
195 countries
 Over 34,000 airline sales offices
 Over 86,000 hotels
 Over 24 Rental Car brands serving 36.000
locations
Sabre  Aeroflot  Travelocity
 American  Zuji
Airlines  Lastminute.com
 JetBlue  Travel Guru
Airways  Priceline
 Midwest  Schedules for 800 airlines
Airlines  ability to shop and book for over 380
 Frontier airlines
 US Airways  88,000 hotels
 Westjet  50 rail carriers
 Volarisr  180 tour operators
 Kingfisher  13 cruise lines
Airlines  24 car rental brands serving 30,000
locations
 9 limousine vendors providing access to
more than 33,500 ground service
 providers
 55,000 travel agencies in over 100
countries
Galileo by T  Aer Lingus  CheapOair
ravelport (a  Sabena  ebookers
s Apollo  Alitalia  Flight Centre
Reservation  British  Orbitz
System 1970 Airways - >
-early 1990s) Moved to
Amadeus
 Swissair
 TAP
 United
Airlines (using
their
subsidiary
Covia)
 KLM (Subsequ
ently migrated
to Amadeus as
part of Air
France-KLM)
 Olympic
Airlines
 Austrian
Airlines
Following a merger
with the Apollo
System in the USA
*Air Canada and *US
Air joined the
ownership group
Worldspan  Delta  Expedia
by Travelpo  Northwest (Nor  Hotwire
rt thwest Airlines  Hotels
merged with  Priceline
Delta Airlines  Orbitz
and is now  BookIt.com
using Delta
Matic. Both are
still based on
the Worldspan
Reservation
System)
 TWA (Merged
with American
 Airlines and
now is using
Sabre)
TravelSky  Air China  Online travel agencies including
 China  Ctrip
Southern  eLong
 China Eastern  mangocity
 Hainan Airlines
Patheo  Finnair  Online travel agencies including
 KLM  Airgorrila
 Lufthansa - >  American Express
Moved to  Anyfares
Amadeus  Flights

Abacus  All Nippon  Online travel agencies

Airways  Over 450 individual airlines
 Cathay Pacific  Over 25 countries in Asia Pacific
Airways  Over 80,000 hotels
 China Airlines
 Dragonair
 EVA Airways
 Garuda
Indonesia
 Malaysia
Airlines
 Philippine
Airlines
 Royal Brunei
Airlines
 SABRE
 SilkAirr
 Singapore
Airlines
KIU  Sol Líneas  Over 12 individual airlines
Aéreas  Over 10 countries in Latin and North
 Aerogalr America
 Star Peru  Travel agencies and wholesale tour
 LC Busre operators worldwide
 Peruvian
Airlines
 Cielos Andinos
 EasyFly
 LASER Airlines
 Aeropostal
 LADE - Líneas
Aéreas Del
 Estado
 Amaszonas
 Maya Air

Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) - Airlines have found computer

reservation systems to be extremely helpful in influencing travel agents'
recommendations. By monitoring the behavior of individual agents, airlines can
design commissions that will have the optimum impact on their flight
recommendations. Developing and operating these systems is quite expensive,
however, and only the largest carriers have been able to market them. At present,
the seven largest carriers all own at least a share of a CRS. In the 1970s, airlines
began modifying and enhancing their internal reservation systems to make the sale
of airline tickets through travel agents more efficient. The CRS gave travel agents
access to information about flight schedules, fares, and seat availability. It also
enabled them to make reservations and issue tickets automatically. Although the
computer reservation systems are owned and operated by particular airlines, an
agent can use one to get information and make reservations on virtually any
scheduled carrier.
Since the systems make both airlines and travel agents more productive, CRS
owners charge both of them for the use of their systems. Travel agents rent the
equipment, while airlines pay a booking fee for each flight reservation.
The influence of computer reservation systems on bookings can be seen in the fact
that a relatively large proportion of the travel agents in a city where a carrier
operates a hub use that carrier's CRS. If the systems did not influence the behavior
of travel agents, there would be little reason for carriers to market them most
aggressively in cities where they center their operations. Moreover, at present all
the computer reservation systems are owned and operated by airlines. While the
airlines have found the systems to be profitable, the systems that were not owned
by an airline have ceased operating.
------------- SABRE
Sabre is a computer reservations system / global distribution system (GDS) used
by airlines, railways, hotels, travel agents and other travel companies. Sabre GDS is
a unit of Sabre Holdings' Sabre Travel Network division. Current North American
hosted carriers include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, WestJet, Cape Air, Frontier
Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Mesa Airlines, and Midwest Airlines. Its
current IATA code is 1S. However some internal areas are still under 1W.
The Sabre datacenter is in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was subject to the Computer
Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II and is intended to be part of the
predecor Secure Flight program for the selection of passengers with a risk profile,
sometime in 2008-10.
Sabre was developed in order to help American Airlines improve the way in which
the airline booked reservations. By the 1950s, American Airlines was facing a serious
challenge in its ability to quickly handle airline reservations in an era that witnessed
high growth in passenger volumes in the airline industry. Before the introduction of
Sabre, the airline's system for booking flights was entirely manual, having developed
from the techniques originally developed at its Little Rock, Arkansas reservations
center in the 1920s. In this manual system, a team of eight operators would sort
through a rotating file with cards for every flight. When a seat was booked, the
operators would place a mark on the side of the card, and knew visually whether it
was full. This part of the process was not all that slow, at least when there were not
that many planes, but the entire end-to-end task of looking for a flight, reserving a
seat and then writing up the ticket could take up to three hours in some cases, and
90 minutes on average. The system also had limited room to scale. It was limited to
about eight operators because that was the maximum that could fit around the file,
so in order to handle more queries the only solution was to add more layers of
hierarchy to filter down requests into batches.
American Airlines had already attacked the problem to some degree, and was in the
process of introducing their new Magnetronic Reservisor, an electromechanical
computer, in 1952 to replace the card files. This computer consisted of a
single magnetic drum, each memory location holding the number of seats left on a
particular flight. Using this system, a large number of operators could look up
information simultaneously, so the ticket agents could be told over the phone
whether a seat was available. On the downside, a staff member was still needed at
each end of the phone line, and actually handling the ticket still took considerable
effort and filing. Something much more highly automated was needed if AA was
going to enter the jet age, booking many times more seats.
In a few years IBM sent a research proposal to AA, suggesting that they really study
the problem and see if an "electronic brain" could actually help. They set up a team
consisting of IBM engineers led by John Siegfried and a large number of AA's staff led
by Malcolm Perry, taken from booking, reservations and ticket sales, calling the
effort the Semi-Automated Business Research Environment, or SABRE.
A formal development arrangement was signed in 1957, and the first experimental
system went online in 1960, based on two IBM 7090 mainframes in a new data
center located in Briarcliff. The system was a success. Up until this point it had cost
the astonishing sum of $40 million to develop and install (about $350 million in 2000
dollars). The SABRE system by IBM in the 1960s was specified to process a very
large number of transactions, such as handling 83,000 daily phone calls. The system
took over all booking functions in 1964, at which point the name had changed to the
more familiar SABRE.
By the 1980s, SABRE offered airline reservations through the CompuServe
Information Service and GEnier under the Eaasy SABRE brand. This service was
extended to Amerrica Online in the 1990s. Today the system connects more than
30,000 travel agents and 3 million consumers with more than 400 airlines, 50 car-
rental companies, 35,000 hotels and dozens of railways, tour companies, ferries and
cruise lines.
One shortcoming of the Sabre reservations system that frustrates some travelers is
that it only facilitates booking flights within 330 days of the booking date. Therefore,
travelers who intend to stay in their destination for longer 330 days are unable to
purchase their return ticket at the same time they buy their departure ticket and are
forced to buy more expensive one-way tickets for each leg of their travel. Likewise, if
the return date is to be 330 days after the departure date, round-trip tickets can
only be purchased (at exorbitant rates) on the day of departure, if they are even
available at such a late date. Most airlines, though, have a program where you can
book your return within 330 days and change it for a later date free of charge.

AMEDEUS
Amadeus is a computer reservations system (or global distribution system, since it
sells tickets for multiple airlines) owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters
in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The
development center is located at Sophia Antipolis, France. In addition to airlines, the
CRS is also used to book train travel, cruises, car rental, ferry reservations,
and hotel rooms. Amadeus also provides New Generation departure control systems
to airlines. Amadeus is a member of IATA, OTA and SITA, and its IATA airline
designator code is 1A.
Amadeus was formed in 1987 by an alliance between Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia
Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines System. Today, it is the leader in terms of number
of bookings worldwide.

GALILEO
Galileo is a computer reservations system (CRS) owned by Travelport. As of 2002, it
had a 26.4% share of worldwide CRS airline bookings.
In addition to airline reservations, the Galileo CRS is also used to
book train travel, cruises, car rental, and hotel rooms. The Galileo system was
moved from Denver, Colorado to the Worldspan datacenter in Atlanta, Georgia on
September 28, 2008, following the 2007 merger of Travelport and Worldspan
(although they now share the same datacenter, they continue to be run as separate
systems). Galileo is subject to the Capps II and its successor Secure Flight program
for the selection of passengers with a risk profile. Galileo is a member
of IATA, OTA and SITA.
Galileo was founded in 1971 by United Airlines under the name Apollo Reservation
System. During the 1980s and early 1990s, a significant proportion of airline tickets
were sold by travel agents. Flights by the airline owning the reservation system had
preferential display on the computer screen. Due to the high market penetration of
the Sabre and Apollo systems, owned by American Airlines and United Airlines,
respectively, Worldspan and Galileo were created in an attempt to gain market
share in the computer reservation system market and, by inference, the commercial
airline market. In response and to prevent possible government intervention, United
Airlines started computer reservation systems and sought minority partners. Galileo
International was the product of this reaction.
The Apollo reservation system is still used by United Airlines and Galileo
International (now part of Travelport GDS) travel agency customers in the United
States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan.
Galileo UK was originally created from Travicom which was world’s first multi-access
reservations system using the technology developed by Videcom. Travicom was a
company launched by Videcom, British Airways, British Caledonian and CCL in 1976
which in 1988 became Galileo UK.