A global distribution system is the technical platform travel agencies and booking sites use to search flights, price them and send bookings to airlines.
A global distribution system is the technical platform travel agencies and booking sites use to search flights, price them and send bookings to airlines.
Also called: GDS.
How it works#
These systems explain several things that look arbitrary to travellers: different prices by sales channel, fares visible only to certain agencies, and booking rules that come from system logic rather than airline policy. Knowing there is a layer between airline and booking site also explains why some changes get stuck exactly there.
Not to be confused with#
A global distribution system is not the same as an airline’s own website: the website sells from its own inventory, the distribution system spreads inventory to third parties.
In German#
The German term is Globales Vertriebssystem. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Online travel agency: An online travel agency is an intermediary that sells flights and hotels in its own name, sitting between the traveller and the airline or hotel.
- Booking reference: A booking reference is the six-character code identifying a reservation record for the airline, the agency and the airport.
- Fare basis code: A fare basis code is the full tariff code on a ticket, encoding promotions, validity and restrictions on top of the fare class letter.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onBooking and flight search.