Tag Archives: Travelport

Travelport announced the renewal of a multi-year content agreement with Korean Air, the country’s largest airline and national carrier.Under the agreement, Travelport will continue to provide Korean Air’s content and inventory to more than 68,000 Travelport-connected agencies around the world, enabling them to search, sell and book the airline’s fares. Kenneth Chang, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Korean Air, commented, “As travel recovers, Korean Air fully intends to be leading the way. Our partnership with Travelport has proven itself many times over, and its global network remains a cornerstone of our plans for international growth.” Sue Carter, Head of Asia Pacific, Air Partners at Travelport, added, “We’re extremely pleased to continue supporting Korean Air’s ambitions to be a global aviation leader with our technology solutions. Taking advantage of cutting-edge advancements like New Distribution Capability will be crucial for airlines to lead in a world of heightened traveller expectations, and we look forward to further extending our support with Korean Air in time to come.” In addition to providing Korean Air content to travel agencies around the world, Travelport is also supporting Korean Air’s organization-wide digital transformation with its Data and Business Intelligence, as well as Airline Insight solutions. These tools provide timely analysis and insights which help airlines recognise and respond to market trends swiftly. A founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, Korean Air was recently rated one of the top three airlines in the world in the 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards for Airlines.

Travelport signed a new multi-year content agreement with Air New Zealand. The agreement also includes the continued use of Travelport Rich Content and Branding, the company’s leading airline merchandising tool.Under the agreement, Travelport will continue to support Air New Zealand by providing more than 68,000 Travelport-connected agencies around the world with real-time access to search, sell and book the airline’s content and inventory. With Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding solution, worldwide agencies will also be enjoying greater access and a graphically rich experience when searching and booking the branded fares and ancillary products of Air New Zealand.Commenting on the new agreement, Andrew Dale, Regional General Manager Sales & Alliances said, “We are looking to the future with this new agreement. Putting Air New Zealand’s award-winning and innovative products in front of the world’s travel agents, in a manner which does them full justice, will play a crucial role in the recovery of travel. Travelport has been a trusted partner with a proven track record for years, and we are happy to extend our partnership.” Sue Carter, Head of Asia Pacific, Air Partners at Travelport, commented: “In 2015, Air New Zealand was the 100th carrier to launch Travelport Rich Content and Branding, which is now being used by more than 300 airlines globally to differentiate their branded fares and increase upselling. Retailing excellence is more important now than it has ever been, and we are delighted to build on our partnership with Air New Zealand.”

Travelport announced the launch of the Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker, in response to demand from travellers and travel agents for information on airline health and safety measures. The tool, which is free of charge and available to both Travelport customers and the wider industry, highlights the safety measures being undertaken by more than 80 of the world’s largest airlines – all available at a glance. It is delivered to both online and offline travel agencies through the recently launched Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin, Travelport’s API-based merchandising solution, Branded Fares Data File, and the company’s COVID-19 Resource Hub, which is also available to the general public. Kyle Moore, Global Head of Customer Strategy and Marketing, Travelport said, “In recent months, the travel industry has introduced a wide array of robust health and safety measures to enable a safe and responsible return for travel. As we sit at the heart of the industry, both aggregating, and enabling the merchandising of, travel content from all corners of the world, we are in a natural position to bring this information into a single place and deliver it to travel agents and travellers. Using our leading technology, we believe this tool will help travellers to match their travel needs with the safety measures they expect, bringing back confidence in travel and supporting a strong industry recovery.” The Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker 1 monitors the use of seven sought-after safety measures: mandated use of face masks, socially distanced seating, temperature checks before boarding, improved air filtration, enhanced cleaning programs, reduced onboard food and beverage services, and mandated traveler health certification or declaration. The data is presented in a simple visual format and …

Travelport announced signing a new multi-year content agreement with Malaysia Airlines. The agreement also includes the use of Travelport’s leading merchandising tool, Travelport Rich Content and Branding, as well as Travelport’s Digital Media Solutions. With the agreement, over 68,000 agencies servicing hundreds of millions of travellers worldwide will have real-time access to search, book and sell the content and inventory of Malaysia Airlines. It will also join over 300 other airlines using Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool, which gives agencies a graphically rich experience when searching for and booking branded fares. Additionally, Travelport Digital Media Solutions, including Travelport sponsored flights and destination banners, will be used by Malaysia Airlines to promote its flight options through highly targeted advertising tool kits and campaigns. Commenting on the new deal, Lau Yin May, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer of Malaysia Airlines said, “We fly to over 1,000 destinations around the world and Travelport’s edge in technology innovations, air merchandising and digital marketing will help Malaysia Airlines better fulfill the demands of travellers and seize growth opportunities in today’s highly competitive environment.” Chris Ramm, Vice President Asia Pacific, Air Partners at Travelport, said, “Following the airline’s launch of new flexible fare options last year, I believe Travelport Rich Content and Branding will further empower Malaysia Airlines to offer more flexibility to travellers who increasingly demand personalised travel experience. Our Digital Media Solutions will also support Malaysia Airlines in global and tactical sales campaigns to promote its product offerings.”

Requests for assistance for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities have seen an increase of 342 per cent in Middle East and Africa, following a 10-month long campaign to raise awareness of a dedicated Special Service Request (SSR) booking code by travel technology company, Travelport. SSR codes are used in the airline industry to communicate traveller preferences or needs to airlines. They are delivered through standardised four-letter codes defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The DPNA SSR code can be used by travel agents, among others, to alert airlines when a passenger has intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance.   As part of its campaign to raise awareness of the DPNA SSR code, Travelport has shared educational ‘sign-on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ more than 10 million times with hundreds of thousands of travel agents across the world through Travelport Smartpoint, its flagship Point of Sale solution that is used by travel agents, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more. The digital media used to reach travel agents is typically sold by Travelport to travel providers, like airlines and hotels, as advertising space.   Mark Meehan, Travelport’s Global Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Operators, said, “SSR codes play an important role in helping travel agents effectively and officially communicate the needs of travellers to IATA airlines, so it’s important agents are aware of the codes at their disposal and the kind of support that can be requested.”

Travelport confirmed that the company is now the sole global distribution system (GDS) provider of Air India’s domestic flight content in India. The contract, which was awarded to Travelport following a competitive bidding process, came into effect in November 2018 and was fully implemented as of January 1, 2020. It means, Travelport is now the only GDS provider through which travel agents in India can receive both Air India’s domestic and international flight content. The company also continues to provide all domestic and international flight content from the carrier to its wide network of travel agents across the world. As Air India is signed up to Travelport’s leading merchandising solution, Travelport rich content and branding, travel agents booking through its platform benefit from a graphically rich experience when searching for and booking the airline’s branded fares, as well as greater access to its ancillary offers. The milestone comes just one month after Meenakshi Malik, Executive Director of Commercial Operations at Air India, revealed that the carrier had already seen ‘growth of 22 per cent’ in operational profit and ‘cut down cost by around ₹300 crore’ since it began changing its distribution strategy. Malik also projected a saving of ‘₹3200 crore in five years’. Martin Herbert, Regional Managing Director for India and Sri Lanka at Travelport, said, “Wide and cost-effective distribution, coupled with impactful merchandising, are important to all airlines and we’re proud we are now the sole GDS provider of these services to Air India when it comes to both domestic and international content in India.” Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, said, “Now that we have had a glimpse of last year’s performance, with respect to …

Saudi Arabian travellers are leading the global demand for high-tech travel according to the findings of Travelport’s 2019 Global Digital Traveller Research, which surveyed 23,000 people from 20 countries with the following findings; 74% of Saudi Arabian travellers require concierge services such as local maps and restaurants on their smartphones (60% globally); 71% prefer in-room technology such as smart TVs and Bluetooth speakers from accommodation (60% globally); Nearly 74% of Saudi travellers consider it important whether an airline offers a good digital experience when booking a flight; Like global peers, 76% of Saudi Arabian travellers prioritise value over cost (86% globally); Customer service was however highlighted as the top priority to travellers in Saudi Arabia (78%) Technology, however, is not always the answer with two fifths (40%) of Saudi Arabian travellers saying they find, not being able to speak to a human frustrating. This is similar to the feedback from 42% of global respondents. Commenting on the findings of the research, David Gomes, Head of the Middle East and Africa, Air Travel Partners, said, “Saudi Arabian travellers want a digitally-savvy travel experience which is as engaging as the experience provided by best retailers. At Travelport, we will continue to accelerate developments in all these areas, to help the industry keep pace with the rapidly evolving needs of the modern traveller.”

Travelport announced a new distribution agreement with Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines). Under the agreement, Travelport will continue to support Saudia by providing more than 68,000 Travelport-connected agencies servicing hundreds of millions of travellers around the world with real-time access to search, sell, and book its content and inventory. As the first global distribution system to manage the live booking of flights using the International Air Transport Association’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) technical standard, Travelport will further help Saudia by giving it the opportunity to display NDC-based airline content on its platform. Richard Nuttall, VP Sales at Saudi Arabian Airlines, commented on the new deal saying, “Travelport has been a valued partner to Saudia for many years. By continuing to work with Travelport’s global network, we will provide our loyal customers with greater access to our flights and open up significant new growth opportunities for our business.” David Gomes, Head of Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan, Air Travel Partners, Travelport, says, “With Saudi Arabia newly opened to tourism and visitors for growth, we are delighted that Saudia has chosen to expand its partnership with us. We are fully committed to supporting them with our travel commerce platform.”    

Travelport further deepened its collaboration with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the travel agency community on the implementation of SIA’s KrisConnect Programme – the airline’s initiative to leverage IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard. Damian Hickey, Global Vice President & Global Head of Air Travel Partners, briefed representatives of around 200 agencies on Travelport’s NDC implementation roadmap for SIA at the launch of the airline’s expanded KrisConnect Programme in Singapore. He also offered a preview of the intuitive new NDC-enabled process which agencies can soon expect, as Travelport prepares to launch the next phase of its NDC delivery shortly. Since KrisConnect was first launched in late 2018, Travelport has been working extensively with SIA to integrate its NDC content, ahead of general availability from April 2020. Functionality is expected to be launched through Travelport’s NDC-enabled points-of-sale, starting with initial pilots with a small group of agency customers in the coming months. Agencies connecting to KrisConnect through Travelport will gain access to customised offerings that are tailored to customers’ needs and preferences. SIA has advised that they will also benefit from a wider range of fares and other content come April 2020. All of this will be delivered through an intuitive, user-friendly interface integrated into the Travelport systems they are already familiar with. This latest collaboration builds on Travelport’s leading momentum in rolling out NDC capabilities for the industry. Travelport was the first GDS to make a live NDC booking in October 2018, and is already connected to six airlines’ NDC content.

Travelport has announced the development of a blockchain solution to enhance the hotel commission reconciliation process. Working with IBM Services and BCD Travel, as well as a number of high-profile hotel chains, the blockchain technology solution aims to optimise hotel commission processing on a distributed ledger by managing reconciliation, tracking and accounting for commission payments owed from hotel chains for services purchased by travellers via booking agencies. Ross Vinograd, Senior Product Director, Travelport, said: “Blockchain technology applied to commission reconciliation has the potential to deliver real ROI to both a travel agency and the hotel. Traveller modifications at property, no shows, and complimentary room nights are just a few examples that drive commission discrepancies which in turn generate escalations, cost, and revenue loss. Our aim is to put the lifecycle of a booking on the blockchain and we believe doing so will drive transparency, trust, and ultimately booking volume.” Kurt Wedgwood, IBM Blockchain Leader-Travel, added: “Global distribution companies and providers would benefit from this use of blockchain technology to remove their never-ending work of reconciliation to spend that time adding new experiences and insights for the traveller. Eliminating the hours spent addressing dollars in dispute or the timeliness and accuracy of information allows all participants to focus on what matters most: the traveller.”