85 , Anis Nsouli S I r . - Verdu n P
. O. Box : 13-5468 Te l ep h o ne : + 961 1 86 1 2 9 9 Facsimile : + 96 1 1 863 168

5 ITA: B E YXAXD \f , --f ~ " ,Li: .. l : l .. , ...- : '..-J) ~U~) ARAB Am CA R R I E- R S O RG A N I ZAT IO N

To whom it may concern U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E
. Washington, D.C. 20590 United States of America

The Arab Air Carriers Organ i zation (AACO) is the trade associ ation of 30 Arab a i rlines, name ly: Afriq iyah Airways , Air Algerie , Air Arabia, Air Cairo, EgyptAir , Emirates, Etihad Airways , Gulf A i r, Iraqi Ai rways, Jorda n Avi ation, Kuwa i t A i rways , Libyan Ai rlines , Maximus Air Cargo , Middle East Airlines , Nas Air , Novela i r, Oman Air, Palestinian Airlines, Petra Airlines, Qatar Airways , Rotana Jet , Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordan i an, Sa u dia , Sudan Airways , Syri an Arab Airlines , Tassili Ai rlines , T MA Ca rgo , Tunisair and Yemen Airways. AACO we l comes the opportunity to submit to the US Department of Transportation its support for the approval of Reso l ution 787 wh i ch will modernize the i ndirect channel's distri bution landscape by establishing a standard for data transmission that uses the latest technolog i ca l advancements to allow airlines to present their complete product offerings to i ts customers . The current i ndirect distribution structure was created when airlines were f lag carriers an d national assets. In addition , the lack of commun i cat i on media through that era resulted i n l im i ted knowledge of the consumer of the offerings outside his narrow surrounding
. However, the deregulation of air transport in addition to the technologi cal advanceme nts and the associated global i zation resulted in a revolution i n the shopp i ng experi ence across al l commerci a l sectors . The resu l ting sophisticat i on of the consumer led airlines to develop their product offeri ngs i n order to compete on the services offered , rather than only on t i cket prices
. But the i ndirect distribution channel was not able to fulfill the needs of the airlines, and hence airlines turned to develop the i r direct distribution channel through the i r websites and offices. A direct result of th is was the rise of meta-searches that spawned as a result of the need of the customer to compare offerings through the direct channel from several airlines without going through each carri er' s website
. The introduction of a new messaging standard for i nd i rect distri bution channel is a long awa i ted step that would complete the ci rcl e and allow airl ines to compete in the indirect channel not on ly o n price, but on servi ce level and addit i onal servi ces they provide to their customers as wel l
. We believe that the New Distribution Capability will create a health i er competition environment for the consumer who wi l l be able to choose from complete offers rather than prices. In add i t i on ,

www.aaco . org 

# I I I I85, Anis Nso uli 5t r. - Ve rd u n P.O. Box : 13-5468 Te le p h o n e : +961 1 861 299 Facsimile : + 961 1 863 168

5 ITA: BEYXAXD < f ~~ J-. i . : . ll .. r- : ' ~~

9U .. aJ~ AMB AIR CA R R lt- :RS O R GAN IZAT I ON we believe that the New Distribution Capability will a l low travel agents to recoup some of the share they have lost to direct distribution channels due to the lack of functionality through the curre nt indirect distribution channel's infrastructure, and will l everage the role of trave l agents from merely price offering agencies to travel consultants who will be able to provide advi ce to their customers on the best combination of price and services they are seeking
. Accordingly, AACO strongly supports the initiative and would recommend to the Department of Transportation approvi ng Resolut i on 787 which will reflect positively on the air transport secto r as a whole
.

www.aaco . org 

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