Tag Archives: Travelport

Travelport announced that it has become the first GDS to be granted with both ‘Aggregator Level One’ certification and ‘IT Provider Level Two’ status by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as part of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) programme. For airlines, this means that Travelport is able to fully integrate with its NDC application programme interface should the airline choose to use NDC-XML messaging to distribute and deliver their fares and products. For travel agencies and travel management companies, this means that when shopping for and booking flights via Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform, they will have even more enhanced travel content and greater access to ancillary offers. In particular, Travelport-connected agents will be able to make ancillary sales post the original flight booking, and through their preferred agency workflows, for the first time. Travelport has also achieved the NDC-capable ‘IT Provider’ Level Two status, making it only the second organisation — and first GDS — ever to be designated as NDC certified and NDC Capable.  This further expands its NDC capabilities and means that Travelport also has the option to distribute IATA NDC offers for fares and prices on behalf of the airlines electing to use IATA’s industry standards. Ian Heywood, Travelport’s Global Head of Product and Marketing, Air Commerce, commented: “We know the industry needs to transform the way flights are sold and IATA’s NDC is an important part of this.  It very much complements the pioneering merchandising technology we launched in 2014 with our Rich Content and Branding solution which enables airlines to retail their full range of products, and extensively promote their brand, to the travel trade and corporate bookers.  With this latest industry-first milestone, we …

Travelport has announced a new multi-year agreement with Astra Travel, the first dedicated travel management company in Egypt. This new partnership will provide Astra Travel with access to Travelport’s travel content – including the branded fares and ancillaries from the world’s leading airlines and low cost carriers, as well as over 650,000 hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations in nearly 180 countries across the globe. Astra Travel will access this consumer-ready content via Travelport Smartpoint, Travelport’s industry leading point of sale solution for travel agents that provides rich, graphical detail in a fast and accurate single workflow. Established in 1990, Astra Travel provides integrated travel services as well as event management services to large local and international firms. Fatma Nosseir, Managing Director, Astra Travel commented: “Considering the constant changes and customer needs of the travel industry, all of us at Astra Travel, are fully dedicated to customer satisfaction and devoted to serving our clients efficiently. Our investment in Travelport’s industry leading technology solutions is an innovative move for us to grow our business in the region. Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform will provide our business with opportunities to work smarter and improve our productivity and profitability, helping us to stand out from the competition.” Mervat Alfy, Country Manager, Travelport Egypt said: “Astra Travel is a key player in the Egyptian travel industry. This partnership with Astra Travel, is testament to the value that our Travel Commerce Platform brings to travel business and demonstrates how we are working with Egypt’s travel industry leaders to innovate together and support them in growing their businesses. Travelport’s presence in Egypt is steadily growing and we are looking forward to working with Astra Travel over …

Travelport and Emirates have launched Emirates Fare Brand chosen — available for the first time to book on Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. The program gives the ability to select and pay for seats in advance. The launch of advanced paid seating options for certain economy fares on Travelport continues to promote Emirates’ ongoing investment in inflight customer experience which includes numerous new and innovative products.  Previously only available on Emirates’ website, the enhancement allows over 68,000 Travelport-connected online and offline travel agencies and travel management companies operating in over 180 countries across the globe an even more personalised and enhanced service to travellers. Derek Sharp, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Air Commerce, Travelport, commented: “This is an exciting development in Travelport’s longstanding and deep relationship with Emirates. Their decision to launch advanced paid seating through Travelport – in an industry-first move – is testament to how we are able to help Emirates market their unique offerings to the global travel trade and end travelers.  Emirates has made some significant investments in its inflight customer experience and it’s essential that we are able to fully explain this to travel bookers around the world.”

Travelport and Flynas, a low-cost carrier from Saudi Arabia, have announced the signing of a multi-year, full content agreement. Launched in 2007, Flynas operates nearly 1,000 weekly flights to 30 destinations within and outside Saudi Arabia. The new agreement will see Flynas’ full content and inventory, including its branded fares and ancillaries become available to over 68,000 travel agencies, across 180 countries through Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. Furthermore, the airline now joins over 180 airlines which are currently live on Travelport’s merchandising technology solution for airlines, Travelport Rich Content and Branding. Through Travelport, the airline will be able to effectively promote Flynas’ products and services, including its dedicated Business Class Cabin, which has seen a significant investment from Flynas since 2013. Agents will also be able to access naSmiles, the frequent flyer program of Flynas, through which travellers can earn SMILE Points when booking flights and ancillaries. Also, Rich Content and Branding will enable the airline’s content to appear on travel agents’ screens, with rich, graphical product descriptions, boosting upselling opportunities for the travel agent community at the time of booking. Paul Byrne, Chief Executive Officer at Flynas, commented: “This new agreement with Travelport will provide the platform for our business to further improve our customer service, expand our presence across the globe and grow our revenues. Travelport’s industry leading Travel Commerce Platform has impressive capabilities and we are pleased to have signed this partnership. “ Matthew Powell, Managing Director, Middle East and South Asia, Travelport said: “We are delighted that Flynas has seen the value in our innovative Travel Commerce Platform. Our platform enables travel providers and their evolving technologies to deliver the widest choice of relevant content for …

Travelport and Al Hashim Travel have announced a new, exclusive, long-term agreement. Al Hashim Travel is located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, with 10 branches in the region. The agency is also set to expand across in Saudi Arabia in 2017. The agreement with Travelport will see Al Hashim Travel benefit from the industry leading merchandising and desktop technology, Travelport Smartpoint.  Travelport Smartpoint allows travel agents to not only sell airline tickets, but also the branded fares and ancillaries of over 400 of the world’s leading airlines, including network and low-cost carriers. Additionally, over 650,000 unique hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations are available through Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. Commenting on the new agreement, Abbas AlSaleh, Chief Executive Officer, Al Hashim Travel, said: “This exclusive deal with Travelport provides a great opportunity for our business to advance our operations. We strongly believe that Travelport’s pioneering technology will support our business to work smarter, grow revenues and enhance our online presence.” Asgar Khan, General Manager, Al Hashim Travel, said: “Travellers are increasingly expecting a more personalised travel experience. They want more choice and flexibility when they book. Travelport’s technology is cutting edge in enabling us to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations around new travel trends.” Ibrahim El Mohandes, Country Manager, Travelport Saudi Arabia, said: “We are delighted that Al Hashim Travel, a leading travel agent in Saudi Arabia, has seen the value in our Travel Commerce Platform. Our innovative technology solutions will not only help them to boost their online presence and grow sales but also increase their brand awareness both within the Kingdom and internationally.”

ResNet World has joined hands with Monopoly Hotels & Resorts to offer global reservations connectivity to independent hotels and national hotel groups. All hotels joining the Monopoly Hotels & Resorts Alliance Program will now have access to world-class Central Reservations System (CRS) connectivity, including a direct link to Synxis responsive hotel booking engine, via www.monopolyhotelsandresorts.com, which boasts the highest conversion rate in the industry, the most direct interface to Online Travel Agents (OTA) channels in the industry – allowing for 100% channel management from CRS back office, 100% Global Distribution System (GDS) connection through Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, Travelport, DHISCO channels, and their 500,000 + travel agents and complimentary annual GDS audit for all Monopoly Hotels & Resorts/ResNet World hotel partners, full GDS related Request For Proposal & Consortia support, including access to Sabre’s preferred programs, unmatched level of customer support, with ResNet World completing data input on behalf of the hotel, frequent monitoring of real-time hotel performance, followed up with feedback to the hotel on how they can maximize their e-distribution revenues at any given time, automated monthly reports ensuring both ResNet World and the hotel are aware of ongoing revenue generation, 24/7 customer support across all time zones, with guaranteed same day response times and contractual terms guaranteed to match membership terms of Monopoly Hotels & Resorts. Targeting hotels, resorts, residences and inns, the collaborative partnership will help establish Monopoly Hotels & Resorts as the industry’s best alternate option to a traditional hotel franchise system – enabling hotels to maintain their own identity and operating independence, while benefitting from the peace of mind that comes with the support provided by Monopoly Hotels & Resorts.

Travelport has announced a new multi-year, global full content agreement (FCA) with Turkish carrier Atlasglobal Airlines. Under the agreement, Atlasglobal will now offer Travelport-connected agencies in over 180 countries, servicing hundreds of millions of consumers around the world, real-time access to its fares and inventory-through the Travel Commerce Platform. The airline also joins over 180 airlines now live on Travelport’s industry leading merchandising solution, Travelport Rich Content & Branding, which enables the airline’s fare families to appear on travel agency screens, on a fully integrated basis, in exactly the same way it displays fares and ancillaries on its own website. Operating in the region since 2001, and under the name Atlasglobal since 2015, the airline has a legacy of innovation in customer service and passenger quality and comfort, having introduced unique initiatives such as the “Flying Chef” and “Fly & Bus” services for its passengers. Atlasglobal operates a network across three continents and flies to almost 50 destinations. Travelport’s unsurpassed ability to provide detailed product descriptions- including images and related ancillary options- will support Atlasglobal in demonstrating its unique attributes to the 68,000 Travelport connected travel agents around the world. The merchandising solution also offers the airline the ability to send tailored offers to travel agents and corporates to help drive additional bookings and revenues per seat.

Travelport has signed a new multi-year agreement with East West Travel Group, an Egypt-based travel agency. The East West Travel Group has over 30 years of operational experience, and specializes in corporate travel. The East West Travel Group has also now become the sole representative of BCD Travel in Egypt. BCD Travel is a leading global corporate travel management company with over 13,000 employees worldwide and total sales in 2015 of $25.4 billion. To mark the occasion Travelport sponsored a partnership event with East West Travel Group and BCD Travel in Egypt at the Baron Palace Garden, a historic attraction in the suburb of Heliopolis, Cairo. The event brought together some of the leading players from the Egyptian travel industry from the airline, hotel and government spaces.  The event was attended by His Excellency Mohamed Yehia Rashed, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism. As a result of the agreement, East West Travel Group and BCD Travel will now be able to access and utilize Travelport’s unrivalled travel content – including the branded fares and ancillaries from the world’s leading airlines and low cost carriers, as well as over 650,000 hotel properties, all from within the travel agent’s workflow. Travelport has established itself as a key technology partner in the Egyptian travel industry and today’s announcement with East West Travel and BCD Travel further reinforces Travelport’s brand awareness in the region.

Travelport and MasterCard have announced a new product to help airlines better understand their end travelers’ spend behavior. The product, Travelport Passenger Insight powered by Mastercard, allows airlines to improve their partnership strategies and create better offers to encourage travel on their respective routes.  Travelport Passenger Insight, the latest innovation from Travelport’s airline Business Intelligence team, analyses how, where, and when travellers spend in key spend categories — such as hotels, car rental, restaurants and retail — while traveling in a particular destination or country. Travelport Passenger Insight uses aggregated transaction data to give airlines up-to-date traveler insights and information. Airlines can choose two levels of travel related spend detail. The result is customized analytics specific to the airline customers’ profile and benchmarked against industry competitors.    This unique analysis of anonymised and aggregated spending data provides airlines with tailored insights into brand preferences and trends that can help attract and keep customers in key routes and markets.

Travelport, a leading Travel Commerce Platform providing distribution, technology, payment and other solutions for the global travel industry, announced the creation of a new organization, Travelport Digital, as part of its strategic focus on the fast-growing digital economy.  At the same time Travelport has appointed a Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, a newly created role that will further heighten Travelport’s focus on delivering a marketing leading customer experience. The new Travelport Digital organization will optimise the investments that Travelport has made into various digital assets and products over the past couple of years with the aim of growing Travelport’s range of digital services.  The formation of the function builds on Travelport’s acquisition last year of MTT, the leading provider of mobile and digital solutions to the travel industry, as well as its investment in Locomote, a corporate travel management system.  Bryan Conway, a seasoned Travelport executive has been appointed Head of Travelport Digital.