<P> See List of global distribution systems . </P> <P> GDS in the travel industry originated from a traditional legacy business model that existed to inter-operate between airline vendors and travel agents . During the early days of computerized reservations systems flight ticket reservations were not possible without a GDS . As time progressed, many airline vendors (including budget and mainstream operators) have now adopted a strategy of' direct selling' to their wholesale and retail customers (passengers). They invested heavily in their own reservations and direct - distribution channels and partner systems . This helps to minimize direct dependency on GDS systems to meet sales and revenue targets and allows for a more dynamic response to market needs . These technology advancements in this space facilitate an easier way to cross-sell to partner airlines and via travel agents, eliminating the dependency on a dedicated global GDS federating between systems . Also, multiple price comparison websites eliminate the need of dedicated GDS for point - in - time prices and inventory for both travel agents and end - customers . Hence some experts argue that these changes in business models may lead to complete phasing out of GDS in the Airline space by the year 2020 . </P> <P> Lufthansa Group announced in June 2015 that it was imposing an additional charge of € 16 when booking through an external Global Distribution System rather than their own systems . They stated their choice was based upon that the costs of using external systems was several times higher than their own . Several other airlines including Air France--KLM and Emirates also stated that they are following the development . </P> <P> However, hotels and car rental industry continue to benefit from GDS, especially last - minute inventory disposal using GDS to bring additional operational revenue . GDS here is useful to facilitate global reach using existing network and low marginal costs when compared to online air travel bookings . Some GDS companies are also in the process of investing and establishing significant offshore capability in a move to reduce costs and improve their profit margins to serve their customer directly accommodating changing business models . </P>

How gds is used by a travel agent