Nickname: TripStalker

Review: This is great news for our service, TripStalker. To answer your question of what the little guy should do: Come on over to tripstalker.com and give us a try. We are the only independent search and notify service out there, meaning that we are free to search multiple sources combining our scraping engine with our connection to the GDS's you get the best of all worlds! Now if the airlines would get a clue about modern Internet technology and open up Web services on their site, allowing third parties to check prices, book tickets, etc. we would all win! Well, except the GDS's!

Date reviewed: May 18, 2006 8:27 PM

Nickname: ex-gds employee

Review: One thing to remember is that the airlines were the ones to create the GDS systems and its financial structure. Many of the airlines have also sold their shares in these systems for large quantities of cash. They have nobody but themselves to blame for the current cost of distribution. They also seem to have very short memories. They created Orbitz to bypass these GDS systems, and within a very short period of time sold it to Cendant. which runs the Apollo and Galileo GDS systems.

Date reviewed: Mar 8, 2006 3:09 AM

Nickname: ex-airline exec

Review: Airlines operate on a very narrow margin. It always galled me when I was in the business that GDS and the travel agencies made more off the business than the company with all the hardware and liability. The party is over. Back to the bus or pay up!

Date reviewed: Jan 14, 2006 6:35 AM

Nickname: Han

Review: GDS costs are a major factor in the airline industry. However, carriers have moved forward with their own in-house booking engines on Web sites and for commercial accounts. Major carriers will experience a level playing field since fuel hedging has provided some carriers with lower fuel costs. This will end during the next couple of years! Airlines that maximize new technologies and have the ability to work with labor will be the big winners! Consumers may shift their travel plans away from the traditional hub and spoke systems and opt for direct to non-stop flights!

Date reviewed: Jan 14, 2006 4:59 AM

Nickname: kellin

Review: Airline tickets should cost more. Why should anyone expect to fly across country for cheap? Flying is a convienance we should pay for. And stop being so cheap. There is a lot the public does not know about the low cost carriers. Just for one its very cheap labor. These are people, like yourself, trying to make a living and deserve a fair wage. And the airlines refuse to pay a fair wage when the cost of the product is not making a profit. I was making $20 an hour at top pay as a baggage handler. That's an average for the majors. The low cost guys get around $10 for the same job. Like every thing else--when fuel goes up, prices go up. That's the way it is. So why does the public whine when air fares go up with the cost of fuel? Think about your own jobs. You want a fair wage for your labor. So prices need to stay up so you can recieve that wage. You get what you pay for. Fly the major airlines and have a safe trip and arrive with your bags or go cheap and take your chances.

Date reviewed: Jan 14, 2006 3:09 AM

Nickname: Matt

Review: Being a college student who tends to travel a lot on breaks, it hurts to know that ticket costs keep rising. Because I am a college student, I am one of the kids who falls into the category of "not much money" so these cheap flights are all I have to use. The more expensive the flight, the less time and money I'll have to go home or elsewhere.

Date reviewed: Jan 13, 2006 9:25 PM

Nickname: WRG

Review: As a septuagenarian frequent flyer, I have found it's worth a few extra bucks to have a travel agent make all the arrangements. It's dumb to spend time saving $100 on a $10,000 vacation!

Date reviewed: Jan 13, 2006 7:08 PM

Nickname: CS

Review: Has anyone figured out the result if you add all the losses and profits since, say, 1930 or so? Is the result positive or negative? I would bet negative. Anyone in the airline business without a defendable niche, i.e. Jet Blue, Air Tran, Southwest, etc., is destined to failure.

Date reviewed: Jan 13, 2006 5:02 PM

Nickname: Casbah28

Review: Interesting news. However, what would a little guy who books his or her tickets online with Travelocity or other low-cost travel Web sites do? Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

Date reviewed: Jan 13, 2006 3:42 PM

Nickname: Chips a hoy boy

Review: Here's a cookie you can sink into your milk. I like Southwest's Web site for travel. Excellent service, and no bull!

Date reviewed: Jan 13, 2006 3:22 PM