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about timetables and prices required by the tourism industry and its
customers.

The term CRS stands for "Computerised Reservation System", which is
a technology used to control airline's seats for sales and operational
purposes and also provides access to the reservation facilities of other travel
suppliers. The term GDS stands for "Global Distribution System", which is
actually the name of network that attributes one or more participating CRSs in
different countries around the word. Therefore, a GDS is really a mega CRS
and in many cases it is owned by several airlines, each of whom have their
own CRS.

GDS distributes product offers and functionalities of airlines. They
started from the 1990s and their function expanded rapidly to include other
travel products e.g. hotels, holidays, tours, trains, ferries and car hiring.

CRSs contain information about routes, air carriers, schedules and
availability. Airline CRSs are now indispensable to airlines since the air travel
had become such a complex business. They enable the airline revenue
stream to be maximised by efficient control of the airline's stock of passenger
seats, which are available for sale. This can be realised by adapting
schedules and fares to match availability.

The CRS/GDS industry is complex and involves shareholding amongst
different CRSs as well as marketing or technical co-operation. They provide
the following main functions:

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