Op Ed: New M.O.’s Qualantone On The Right Distribution Path

As a longtime executive at American Express Global Business Travel, culminating with his role as chief revenue officer until mid-2023, Michael Qualantone has been on the frontlines of travel distribution skirmishes. He remains a staunch TMC advocate — that’s a focus of his new gig — and supports GDSs as corporate travel’s pre-eminent booking channel. Here Qualantone lambastes unnamed airlines for taking actions contrary to that view and praises Delta for a deal with GBT, announced May 1, that he says reinforces it.

For the past three years, premium leisure has been the rising tide, filling seats, lifting yields and giving suppliers the confidence to advance their own priorities. Some channeled their energy into innovation. Others used it to press commercial advantage, pushing direct channels, limiting fare access and tilting loyalty and servicing toward self-interest.

During that high tide, several suppliers took for granted corporate travel volumes and agency partnerships. They made hay from leisure travel demand while undervaluing the relationships that deliver long-term value.

But tides turn.

Over recent weeks, major airline executives have acknowledged a slowdown, especially on transatlantic routes. European airlines have a reported a slight weakening in bookings, formed task forces to address it and started scaling back planned schedule growth. In the United States, inbound international travel is softening and domestic volumes are showing signs of pressure. Barclays analysts went further, likening the premium leisure surge to Wile E. Coyote running off a cliff, suspended in midair just long enough to forget that gravity always wins.

With momentum slowing and gravity taking hold, a simple truth re-emerges: The role of managed corporate travel is more essential than ever. It brings weekday occupancy, pricing discipline, longer-term customer value and greater program stability. To strengthen alignment with agencies and corporate customers, and to future-proof the ecosystem, now is the moment for suppliers to reinvest in the partnerships that make this possible.

This is why the recent Delta-Amex GBT agreement matters. It is more than a deal; it’s a signal, a full-content, multiyear partnership built on access, transparency and scalable servicing. No channel traps. No content games. No forced rerouting of workflows. Just a clear, customer-first model designed for the way business travel actually operates. Delta deserves credit for stepping forward with a mature, transparent approach that reaffirms the role of TMCs and meets corporate buyers where they are.

We are also seeing a few airlines move in the opposite direction, expanding their NDC playbooks to include direct connect-only strategies. In some cases, they are even pitching these models directly to corporate clients, suggesting that TMCs can simply adapt around them.

The question every travel buyer should be asking is: Why?

Why push for a model that fragments the experience, bypasses established workflows and undermines transparency? Why escalate these tactics before delivering on the core promises of NDC – better offers, smarter personalization and a truly enhanced shopping experience? And why now, when corporate customers are seeking stability amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty?

The answer too often comes down to short-term self-interest. While that might work when demand is booming and buyers have few choices, it is a riskier bet in an environment where trust, value and alignment matter more than ever.

That is what makes the Alaska Airlines–Hawaiian Airlines story so interesting. For years, Hawaiian took a closed approach to fare access, limiting agency servicing and complicating the shopping experience. But that is now changing. Whether due to increased competition or a broader strategic shift, Hawaiian is pivoting toward a more open, partnership-led distribution model. Alaska Airlines, which acquired Hawaiian last year and is long seen as a traveler- and TMC-friendly carrier, appears to be helping lead that transition.

This matters. It shows there is a path to modernization that does not sacrifice alignment with corporate clients, TMCs, GDSs and the broader ecosystem. A path that puts service and transparency ahead of control. A path where innovation does not mean fragmentation, but progress for everyone.

In moments like this, every airline faces a choice. Stick with a self-serving approach or step up as a partner. Take the route that looks quickest and most direct, or choose the one that leads to better, more sustainable outcomes. Sometimes, the “easier” route is full of potholes. Sometimes the smarter one requires more alignment, more dialogue and more patience. But it leads somewhere better.

Delta has chosen that path. So have Alaska and a few others. Now is the time for more suppliers to follow, to partner, to align and to build what managed travel truly needs. Loyalty isn’t guaranteed. It’s earned through actions, alignment and a commitment to doing things the right way.

As the tide shifts, the industry is not just looking for content. It is looking for commitment. It is looking for leaders.

Additional info: The Delta-GBT “multiyear” partnership extension governs “access to the content” of Delta and its joint venture partners Aeromexico, Latam Airlines, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM. “Delta’s range of branded fares” would be available “seamlessly in one display in Amex GBT’s booking channels,” Egencia and Neo, the pair announced. “Amex GBT and Delta will continue working together to roll out NDC via the GDSs to provide even better shopping and servicing experiences, at scale.”

This Op Ed was created in collaboration with The Company Dime’s Editorial Board of travel managers.