In some cases, tension would be a polite term. Look at the spat between American Airlines and Sabre in the US. One spawned the other and now one’s scorning the other.

But their two destinies are inextricably linked. Much as the airlines want to go direct, they know they have to rely on these mega distribution platforms to sell their products and services through their network of travel agents. And GDSs know too they have to evolve to meet the changing needs of their airline partners.

It is against this background that Airline Cloud9, the new conference by CAPA and WIT, will feature a session in which the world’s four GDSs will each pitch their view of the future and share three big bets they are making on the future.

Contenders pitching “The GDS View of 2018” will be Hans Belle, Vice President & General Manager, Sabre Travel Network, Asia Pacific; Brett Henry, Vice President, Marketing, Abacus International; Bill Lawler, Vice President, Global Customers IT Solutions, Amadeus Asia; and Jason Nash, Vice President, Product Innovation, Travelport.

“We thought it was time to settle the argument once and for all – and find out what each GDS has up their sleeve to take on the future and help their airline partners meet the challenges ahead,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder of WIT. “We look forward to a good, spirited, healthy discussion on one of the industry’s hot button topics.”

Airline Cloud9, to be held in Bangkok on August 23-24, will field a stellar cast of the region’s leading experts in airline IT and distribution to discuss how to leverage technology to create customer experiences and achieve profitability.

The inaugural conference, supported by Foundation Partner Sabre Airline Solutions, is taking place against a backdrop of growth and change in the airline industry in the region.

Carriers based in Asia Pacific will make profits of $2.1 billion in 2012, according to forecasts from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This accounts for 60% of the total profits predicted for the global airline industry, making Asia Pacific a key region for aviation growth.

Of the expected global air passenger traffic increase by 2014 to 800 million, 360 million or 45% of those will travel on Asia Pacific routes, with China and India being the biggest contributor.

With Online Travel Agencies continuing to dominate online travel retail sales – globally online travel retail sales experienced a strong 11% increase in 2011 as a result of a general shift in bookings from high street travel agencies to online travel retailers – Airline Cloud9 will also offer a platform for airlines to learn about the new developments in air search, social media, mobile and the OTA space.

Mr Ho Hoong Mau (left), Division Head, Airline Distribution, Abacus International, a speaker at the event, said, “Airlines need to consider how they can effectively leverage the growing online platform better. OTAs are showing continued proliferation, demonstrating that they maintain a strong channel by which airlines can broaden their customer and transaction base.

“Increasingly, we are seeing successful Asian OTAs branching out of the home market to seek out opportunities in other Asian markets. Via, for example, has ventured out of India and leveraged the Abacus technology platform to form a highly successful OTA and B2B agency business in the Philippines.

“MakeMyTrip India has also established a presence in Singapore. The next wave of OTA growth will be driven by successful OTAs seeking to form pan-Asian partnerships to push the next envelop of growth from a fragmented OTA scene to one with the best OTAs forming a truly pan-Asian franchise.”

Mr Ho will join Amit Saberwal, Chief Business Officer, MakeMyTrip, India and James Marshall, Director, Transport & Tours, Asia Pacific, Expedia Partner Services Group in a session on “The OTA World In Perspective & The Airline Relationship”.

Register for Airline Cloud9 here. Early bird expires July 31.