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The Galileo Central Reservations System is one of the main computer reservation systems used by the travel industry. Galileo was created by a group of European airlines to replace existing multi-access systems, which had required an agent to switch between the reservation systems of many different airlines when completing an itinerary with different airlines. Galileo, and others similar systems, hold information on most airlines in a single database and allow a single booking record to be created. This type of system is often refered to as a Global Distribution System, or GDS.
Almost all airlines in the world are accessible through Galileo or similar systems. The main exceptions are some of the smaller, less technological airlines in Africa and the former communist bloc, or airlines set up specifically for internet sales only. These airlines can, however, be shown on an itinerary in Galileo by using a dummy segment to allow a complete itinerary to be printed for the passenger.
The system is not confined solely to ticket sales. Depending on the restrictions of the airfare and the airlines policies, requests can be made for specific seats, special meals, and other requests. Galileo, like other GDSs, can also be used to book hotels, car hire, or even some train tickets.
In 1997, Galileo International Inc bought the Apollo Reservation System (designed by United Airlines in 1976).
In December 2006, TravelPort agreed to buy and merge with Worldspan GDS. However, at the time, management of TravelPort did not commit to the eventual merging of the two GDS systems, saying that they were considering all options, including running both systems in parallel.
Galileo reservations can be looked up under ViewTrip.
Galileo is a member of SITA, and has the IATA airline designator of 1G.