What is CRS and GDS?

There have been 3 stages of evolution the first reservation system was called an Airline Reservation system, the second a Computer Reservation System (CRS) and the third evolution is todays Global Distribution System (GDS).


A Computer Reservation System is a computerized system for saving and retrieving information when needed related to air travel. CRS were created and used by airlines and at a later point they were finally used in tourism intermediaries like travel agencies.

The best known global GDSs are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan with Amadeus being the only one which is largely owned by European airlines. Together with Galileo, it is the leading system in the European market. Galileo, however, also has a strong position in the US market after it merged with an American system. Sabre and Worldspan have been developed in the US.

There is one downside of using GDS and it is the fact that it costs airlines money to go through a GDS process. Airlines complain that the prices are too high and therefore some poorer airlines have decided to post their best offers by using their own websites instead of the global distribution system so that they do not go bankrupt.

CRS and GDS seem to have the same functions but the major difference between these two systems is that CRS only provide information about airlines whereas by using GDS you can reserve a ticket, a room in a hotel and also a rental car. This is why they are called Global Distribution Systems because you can use GDS to reserve basically everything.




Sources:
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20040216144254916/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Distribution_System