GDS (Global Distribution System)

A global booking system through which agencies access airline, hotel and other supplier fares and availability. It acts as the connective layer between travel suppliers and the booking tools or agents that sell their inventory, standardising how content is searched and booked. The three major GDS providers — Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport — underpin most corporate booking tools' flight and hotel content.

GDS platforms grew out of the reservation systems airlines built in the 1960s and 1970s to manage their own seat inventory, and were later opened up to travel agencies. Today, a GDS stores schedules, fares and availability for hundreds of airlines, as well as hotel, car rental and some rail content. When an agent or booking tool searches through a GDS, it receives standardised results, creates a booking record and issues tickets using the same set of commands and messages, regardless of which supplier is involved.

For decades, the GDS was the main channel through which corporate travel was booked, but its role is changing. Many low-cost carriers do not distribute through it at all, traditional GDS messaging cannot fully display modern airline products such as fare bundles and paid extras, and some airlines add surcharges to GDS bookings to encourage other channels. As a result, modern booking platforms usually combine GDS content with NDC connections and direct supplier links rather than relying on a single source. Understanding these differences helps companies ask the right questions about where their booking tool's content comes from.

For a company, the technology behind the search matters less than the result: complete choice and accurate prices in one place. Tumodo brings together flights from 500+ airlines in a single search, with ticket prices matching those on the suppliers' own websites. Filters by price, departure time, airline, airport and number of stops, together with a price calendar, help travellers find the right option quickly, while fare conditions are shown before the ticket is booked.