Open AXIS Group Celebrates First Year of Impressive Growth
Distribution 2.0 messaging standard now a commercially proven channel
for air travel bookings

TORONTO — July 18, 2011 — Just one year ago, the Open AXIS Group was formed to undertake a formidable task – establish a uniform standard for direct connect content distribution in the air travel industry. With six founding airline members and ATPCO, Open AXIS Group set out to expand the adoption, promotion, enhancement and maintenance of a robust airline industry standard capable of delivering complete booking functionality to both the supply and demand sides of the travel supply chain. As airlines and their distribution partners learned of the benefits and versatility that a direct connect standard can provide, membership has continued to grow and now includes a total of 43 members, 10 of which are airlines.  

The Open AXIS Group eXtensible Markup Language (XML) standard for direct connect is a catalog of messages that developers use to communicate rich and detailed content information between airline and supplier systems. When used in a standardized, coordinated fashion, these messages form the Distribution 2.0 transaction methodology.

“Our member growth and the strides we have made with our XML standard demonstrate the strength of the direct connect movement and demand for Distribution 2.0,” said Jim Young, executive director of Open AXIS Group. “In particular, we’re seeing increasing momentum from travel agencies that wish to learn more about traveler authenticated direct distribution and the positive impact it will have on their businesses.”

In just the last year, Direct Connect Distribution 2.0 has seen some significant milestones:

• Landmark agreements between airline members and key travel distributors, most notably agreements between Air Canada and Travelport, and American Airlines and Priceline.com;
• Member growth outside of the U.S. and Canada, with Copa Airlines in Panama, and Air France and KLM from Europe joining the group;
• Travelsky in China joined in March 2011 and is Open AXIS Group’s first GDS allied member. They too see the value and potential that Direct Connect Distribution offers.

The current Open AXIS Group standard supports the full range of airline booking, ticketing and settlement transactions, from simple straightforward booking to more complex transactions involved with multiple passenger management, ticketing, exchange, refunds, voids and various merchandising transactions including optional services such as airport lounge access, bundling, Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) management, and payment and settlement solutions.

With support from its Full and Allied Members, Open AXIS Group provides a robust, standardized XML schema that addresses both the current and future needs of the travel industry.

Membership in Open AXIS Group is open to any entity that operates in the travel industry, including the airlines (Full Members) and third party developers, Global Distribution Systems (GDS), travel agencies, associations and consultants (Allied Members). There is however no requirement to join Open AXIS Group to use its Direct Connect standard, which can be downloaded at www.openAXISgroup.org. Full Members have the right to actively engage in and vote on all matters put before the membership, including those relating to enhancements and extensions to the Group's standard. Allied Members can provide feedback on and participate in the development of the Group’s standard. They can also voice their recommendations on future enhancements. 

Open AXIS Group’s founding airline members are American Airlines, Air Canada, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways. ATPCO is a founding Allied Member. To view the current member list, visit http://openAXISgroup.org/member-list.html.

About the Open AXIS Group
Open AXIS Group is a member-based, not-for-profit standards body founded by major airlines and ATPCO to advance the Direct Connect Movement around the world. Open AXIS Group members create, maintain, advocate for and promote the use of standardized technology for airline system connectivity and complete content distribution.

Follow Open AXIS Group on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook or connect on LinkedIn. Find out more, become a member, or register and download the Open AXIS Group schema and white papers at www.openAXISgroup.org.

Contact:
Jim Young
Executive Director
Open AXIS Group
jyoung@openAXISgroup.org
416-479-4079

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