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Corporate travel buyers have always had plenty on their plates, budgets to balance, safety nets to maintain, and employees to keep content while dashing between terminals. Now, Sabre Corporation has stepped into the fray with a reality check on one of the industry’s most talked-about battlegrounds: direct airline connections.

Some airlines have been whispering sweet nothings into the ears of corporate buyers, promising cheaper fares, richer content, seamless experiences, and “future-ready” platforms if only they cut the middleman loose. Tempting as it sounds, Sabre insists it’s more mirage than miracle.

In a wide-ranging analysis that included 117 million annual bookings and a global survey of 500 agency executives across 14 markets, Sabre has identified four myths that should make every corporate buyer pause before drinking the direct-connect Kool-Aid.

Myth #1: Direct Connects Mean Cheaper Fares

“Cheaper than going through a marketplace?” Sabre says not so fast. The data is bracing: a June 2025 airfare review found that SabreMosaic™ Travel Marketplace delivered equal or lower fares in more than 90% of searches. In 41% of cases, fares were cheaper than buying directly from the airline.

Airlines build their websites and APIs to maximise their yield, not save corporate buyers money. Marketplaces, by contrast, are designed to spot value by stitching together NDC and EDIFACT content, sometimes even creating clever split-ticket or mixed-carrier options.

It’s like being promised “mates’ rates” at a corner shop only to discover that Woolies has a sale down the street.

Myth #2: Direct Connects Deliver More Content

The airlines want you to believe their direct NDC APIs hold secret treasures unavailable elsewhere. Sabre quickly points out that these are the same APIs already provided to aggregators.

The problem lies in fragmentation. Each direct connect gives you access to a single carrier, and if you want a comprehensive view, you’ll need to wrangle dozens of connections, each with its own technical quirks. Sabre’s survey confirms the pain: 91% of agencies use four or more booking systems, and three-quarters say that number has grown in recent years.

It’s the corporate equivalent of juggling too many streaming subscriptions to watch one TV series on each. Travellers risk missing the fare landscape, managers lose visibility, and the savings slip between the cracks.

Myth #3: Direct Connects Mean a Smoother Experience

For leisure travellers, an inconsistent booking might mean a minor nuisance. For corporates, it’s a minefield. Business travel is rarely straightforward: last-minute changes, multiple suppliers, compliance requirements, and that ever-present duty of care.

Each airline builds its direct connect differently, meaning no two look or behave alike. “For corporate buyers, they aren’t the silver bullet they are regularly positioned as,” warns Roshan Mendis, Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President, Sabre.

Instead of smoothing the path, direct connections risk tripping travellers with poor servicing, patchy visibility, and compliance headaches. That “modern” direct connection might become the corporate equivalent of a smartphone app that crashes when you need it most.

Myth #4: Direct Connects Are Built for the Future

Here’s where scale bites. Airlines can talk about being “future-ready” all they like, but business travel operates on industrial strength. Millions of searches, bundles, and last-minute changes must be processed quickly.

One-off direct connects can’t manage this scale. Some airlines even throttle results when the dreaded “look-to-book” ratios soar, meaning your travellers might not even see every available fare. Throw artificial intelligence into the mix, multiplying searches beyond human comprehension, and the gaps grow.

Sabre argues that platforms built for scale, like its cloud-native SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace, can handle the deluge. It’s not about tying corporates to a single airline’s future but about ensuring that every fare, ancillary, and option is visible across the board.

Sabre’s Trump Card: Mosaic by Name, Mosaic by Nature

Sabre isn’t just debunking myths for fun; it has its own and expansive solution. SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace combines:

  • 38 NDC airlines

  • 150+ low-cost carriers

  • 420+ EDIFACT carriers

  • 2 million+ lodging options

  • 70+ car and rail providers

In short, it offers a panoramic view of content with consistency and scale that corporates can trust. It’s not just a single tapestry thread; it’s the whole fabric.

The Reality Check for Corporates

So what’s the takeaway for those managing global travel programs? Direct connections aren’t useless; they have a role as airlines roll out new retailing models. But they are not, as Sabre insists, the “silver bullet” they’re sometimes sold as.

Roshan Mendis is unequivocal: “Ultimately, this debate is about effectiveness and consistency over complexity-building programs that save money, keep travellers satisfied, and protect people on the move. The data is clear. So is the path forward.”

For corporates, that means resisting the temptation of surface-level promises and instead focusing on solutions that provide:

  • Visibility across all suppliers.

  • Comparability to secure real savings.

  • Consistency to protect the duty of care.

  • Scalability to future-proof programs.

The mirage of direct connections may glimmer on the horizon. Still, when corporates step closer, Sabre’s message is blunt: better the steady compass of a marketplace than the shifting sands of airline marketing.

By Susan Ng

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