Agents’ Sabre Woes Linked to Java Fix

A technical “bug” that made it difficult, if not impossible, for some Sabre subscribers to access the Sabre Red Workspace last week was traced to Sabre’s fix for a Java update.

The problem was discovered on July 2, when Sabre noticed “what appeared to be an unnaturally high number of active sessions” on the VPN (Virtual Private Network) servers that enable users to access the system.

The number of sessions exceeded the number of actual users that were accessing the system through VPN. As a result, some users could not get through, especially during peak hours.

Some agents were not pleased with the way Sabre handled the problems. A week later, Sabre acknowledged in an email that its users would have appreciated more-frequent communications.

Why it happened
Sabre’s problems began a few weeks ago, when Oracle released a critical patch update for its Java 7 software to address more than 40 security vulnerabilities. (See sidebar.)

Sabre said the update created compatibility issues with its Red Workspace, and that Sabre’s fix “unintentionally caused multiple Sabre sessions to be assigned per user.”

“As use of that Java fix grew, the multiple sessions for those users on the new Java version maxed out the Sabre system sessions, leaving some of our customers unable to log-in,” Sabre said.

Initial response
The problem continued for more than 24 hours. During that time Sabre added server capacity. It also advised agents who were having problems to reboot their computers, which seemed to help some, but not all, users.

Once the problem was pinpointed, Sabre advised agents to download a system update to address the issue.

Large agencies that connect with Sabre Red Workspace via Sabre’s Web Services were not affected.

Egencia’s experience
Chris Vukelich, vice president of supplier relations at Egencia, Expedia Inc.’s corporate travel agency, said that his firm was largely untouched. He explained that because 90% of its transactions are online, which means they access Sabre through its Web Services, “90% of the Egencia world was not impacted.”

But agents in Egencia’s call center did run into issues, he said. “We have agents like everyone else, and some of the agents in our call center had intermittent problems getting through.”

Vukelich said Sabre’s account management team handled the issue well. “We were pretty pleased with them.”

Frustrated Sabre agent
Brett Snyder, who owns an agency called The Cranky Concierge in Long Beach, Calif., had a different experience.

“When you call Sabre and you need help on a technical issue, you pay a fee,” he said. “So when I called and pressed the number for connectivity issues, I was on hold for three hours before I gave up.”

Later, he learned that if he had pressed the number for format-related issues, he would have been on hold for 15 to 30 minutes and would not have been charged a fee.

Snyder also checked Sabre’s Agency eServices section. “Initially, I didn’t see anything on there,” he said.

On July 3, Sabre advised agents via email to log into eServices and link to a download to fix the problem. “But it was a dead link,” he said.

Agent’s tweets get a response
Snyder, who writes a popular blog about the airline business called “The Cranky Flyer,” griped about his experience on Twitter, and that got Sabre’s attention.

“Someone from Sabre saw my tweet and sent me a message saying someone would call me. Four or five hours later, someone did call.” The technician took remote control of Snyder’s computer screen and installed the fix.

Sabre’s follow-up email
In an email to agencies on July 9, Chris Kroeger, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network, recapped the event.

Kroeger also acknowledged agents’ discontent. “We also heard loud and clear from those impacted that more frequent communications were expected from us, and we will be building that into our going forward plans on anything affecting you.

“Over the coming days, we’ll keep you updated with additional details on the matter and the steps we’ve taken to ensure this type of issue does not reoccur.”