Travel DISTRIBUTION roundup - January 2014

This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel DISTRIBUTION in tourism and hospitality for January 2014... 31 January 2014:Sabre renews with Turkish Airlines

• The multi-year agreement gives Sabre-connected agencies access to fares, schedules and inventory on the carrier, including the airline's domestic content.

Amadeus bolsters UK & Ireland exec roles

• Guy Snelgar joins as head of sales and consulting, whilst John Prentice will be senior sales and consulting manager. Prentice was previously sales director at My Vacations Group. Snelgar goins from Sabre's GetThere.

eSKY selects Travelport for IT services and distribution content

• The Polish online travel agency, which also has operations in Bulgaria and Romania, has renewed its partnership with Travelport following a previous ten-year stint. The company also recently launched operations in Brazil under the brand name eDestinos.

23 January 2014:Travelport renews agreement with Pakistan operator

• Travelport and Pakistan-based Travel Solutions Limited (formerly Galileo Pakistan) have renewed their long-term distributor agreement. This multi-year agreement will enable Travel Solutions continue to distribute Travelport’s Galileo & Worldspan products and services in the country.

22 January 2014:Scoot Airlines signs content agreement with Amadeus

• Singapore's LCC Scoot Airlines has signed a long-term content agreement with Amadeus, this enables Amadeus travel agency customers immediate access to the same level of fares, availability and functionality as any other travel agency content channel. Scoot is already available via Abacus, Galileo and Infini systems.

20 January 2014:Spring Airlines selects Abacus

• The China LCC has selected Abacus as the exclusive distribution partner to promote its new international routes and fares. The 3-year agreement gives Spring Airlines a distribution grid outside the mainland, with Abacus travel agents at over 20,000 locations booking seats on its competitively priced flights.

EVA Air selects Abacus

• Taiwan-based airline EVA Air has appointed Abacus as the translation platform for Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) fare data in Taiwan, supplying content to the carrier’s retail distribution grid. Abacus is automating all fare sheets nationwide, presenting rules in native Mandarin. Eliminating the need for future manual fare maintenance, the technology delivers savings to EVA and its subsidiary UNI Air.

Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines partner with Amadeus

• Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines will be able to sell advance seat reservation as an ancillary product in the travel agency channel using Amadeus Airline Ancillary Services. Also, passengers will be able to purchase seats offering extra leg room both on continental and intercontinental routes. Also both airlines will distribute ancillary services through their website in the first half of 2014.

16 January 2014:Amadeus buys additional stake in Estonia partner business

• The deal sees Estonia Air offload its 60% ownership of Amadeus Estonia to Amadeus and thereby relinquish its interest in the distributor business for agencies in the country. Amadeus now owns 65% of the company, with the remaining 35% held by Finnish ticket booking company, Amadeus Finland.

15 January 2014:Travelport renews distributor agreement with Travel Technology Systems in Kuwait

• The new multi-year agreement with TTS (which operates under the name Galileo Kuwait) will see the company act as Travelport's supplier of Galileo technology, content and services to travel agencies in the country. Travelport has a number of National Distribution Company agreements in regions around the world where local organisations operate on behalf of the company.

Fastbooking snaps up Pershing Hall hotel for distribution

• The luxury property in Paris will take technology and digital marketing services from Fastbooking as part of a long-term contract. The hotel is looking to target high-end customers in the US with a mixture of RFP tools as well as distribution into both corporate and leisure account managers in agencies.

9 January 2014:Tigerair now available in Amadeus GDS

• Amadeus has announced a new distribution partnership with Tigerair to bring its full range of fares and ancilliary sales content (advance boarding, seat selection, luggage and other passenger amenities) to Amadeus travel agencies in Asia Pacific. Recently, Tigerair was made available via Travelport GDS.

8 Janury 2014: Jeff Clarke stands down at Travelport

• End of an era as the former-CEO leaves his role as a director at Travelport, eight months after stepping down as chairman. Clarke, who was president and CEO until June 2011, was also chair of the company's audit committee and a member of the compensation committee. He is leaving the "pursue other interests", a filing with the SEC in the US stated.

Amadeus overhauls senior roles in North America

• Vic Pynn is appointed chief operating officer for NAM after joining the company in 2009 from TRX. He replaces Jean-Francois Billiard who moves to become senior vice president for strategic programs in the region. Chief commercial officer Stephane Durand will oversee both leisure and corporate customers as a result of the changes.

6 January 2014:Travelport picked by Pinpoint Travel Group

• The Australian rewards and redemption provider, which works with numerous banks and corporations, has selected Travelport as its preferred GDS in the Asia-Pacific region. The company also operates vacation programs for carriers such as Singapore Airlines and United.

Leonardo Hotels renews Sabre agreement

• The European wing of Fattal Hotels will use Sabre for distribution as well the SynXis central reservation system after recently acquiring some 20 new properties in the Middle East and Europe.

FlightCar opts for agent distribution via Travelport

• The car sharing brand has signed a multi-year agreement with Travelport so that its services will be made available via agents desktops connected to Worldspan. Vehicles are available in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston.

NB: Send links or releases for travel distribution direct to Tnooz via email. NB2: Travel distribution image via Shutterstock.