Opodo 'not a major thrust' for parent company

GDS system Amadeus has said online agency Opodo will not form a key part of its future strategy.
Multinational customer group vice president Gillian Gibson said of a one billion euro, three-year investment, the bulk will be spent on developing its GDS distribution platforms.
"We are building a low cost carrier solution and a hotel distribution platform," said Gibson. "Opodo is not a major thrust of our strategy. We are a technology company, not a retailer."
The comments came during a debate where the GDSs were asked whether owning online agencies put them in direct competition with their agency customers.
Sabre, which owns Travelocity and lastminute.com, said owning online agencies gives them a far better understanding of how they work.
"It also gives us close links with airlines and enables us to negotiate good supplier content," said EMEA senior vice president Richard Adams.
But Worldspan vice president and general manager EMEA Graham Nichols said: "We differ from all of them in that we do not compete against our customers. You don’t have to buy an online agency to understand them. There is no advantage in that."