Travel distribution news from Travelport, Amadeus, Sabre, Abacus - April 2013

Product news, releases, projects, related analysis and more from the global distribution systems during April 2013 - all here, in one easy read.

More recent updates first:

Tuesday 30 April 2013:

Travelport unveils overhauled Rooms&More platform. The new service was switched on this week and is features a new interface for agents, including homepage, alert system and help centre. Agents using the platform will see a different design, user experience (with more graphics and navigation) as well as new search tool to find properties and deals on the system.
Sabre boosts TotalTrip service with HotelBeds portfolio. The TUI-owned accommodation service will push its suite of properties to Sabre-connected agents through the Red Workspace tool, boosting the TotalTrip inventory up to 160,000 properties orlaround the world.
At the sharp end of hotel revenue and reputation management in India
In-flight retailing – then, now and beyond

Monday 29 April 2013:

Amadeus celebrates Irish wins and renewals. Alongside six contract renewals, three agency groups have selected Amadeus as their distribution and technology partner. The trio are RCSI Travel, Roscrea Travel and Navan Travel.
Traxo weather alert system tries to to bring some sunshine to snowy travel days

Saturday 27 April 2013:

American Airlines receives Travelport settlement clearance. A US bankruptcy judge approved the Chapter 11-held carrier's recent détente with Travelport, ending the two-year fight in the courts over anti-competitive behaviour in the distribution marketplace. The judge also gave the thumbs-up to a similar deal between AA and Orbitz.
Going beyond the traditional city pairs: New retailing dynamics in online travel
Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part Three of Three – The marketer reinvented
Business travel – Trends, cost reduction measures, opportunities and challenges
Tnooz-Amadeus FREE webinar – How pre-shopping has changed the travel search experience
Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part Two of Three – GDS consolidation and rise of OTAs
Hotel prices in North America – April to June 2013

Wednesday 24 April 2013:

Travelport agrees expansion of departure control system for TuiFly. The partnership continues the collaboration with Res2, a Netherlands-based provider of airport technology, to give its iPort system to the airline for check-in, sales, boarding, load control and flight information. The roll-out of the iPort technology will continue to 30 airports on the TUIFly network by the end of this month.
Cross-selling, ease of booking, commission guarantee – key among Asia travel agents
Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part One of Three – Birth of the GDS
WordPress is nipping at your vertical: Restaurants, weddings, and now hotels
Emirates becomes latest airline to tee up activities and inspiration as part of trip search

Tuesday 23 April 2013:

Amadeus opens Dallas office to service airline customers. The new Texas branch will be dedicated to airlines in the US and Canada, including major partner Southwest, covering product management, sales and engineering.
Priceline’s mobile trends show shift in consumer preferences

Monday 22 April 2013:

Click Travel picks Amadeus for IT agreement. The UK-based travel management company will use a number of services including the Master Price Travelboard for fares, FareXpert Negotiated Fare Filing and other Amadeus-run Web Services.
Amadeus agrees distribution deal with Al Tayyar Travel in Saudi Arabia. The agency says it will use Amadeus as its "primary" GDS, benefitting from long-standing agreements with 13 regional airlines that form the Arab Air Carriers Organisation.
Go fishing and other tips for revenue managers in hotels

Friday 19 April 2013:

GetThere signs TNS Partners deal. The Sabre-run travel management system will be used by the executive search company in an effort to grow its recruitment programme via the usual of virtual meetings around the world.
Travelport re-signs GDS partnership with Travel Network Group. The UK-based agency group has selected Travelport as its "preferred GDS" for the 12th year in a row and will also participate in the on-going Universal Desktop pilot project.
Abacus secures IT agreement with Sedunia Travel Services. The six-year deal will give the Malaysian corporate travel agency a number of tools including its PowerSuite financial platform and TravelIntelligence partner management system.
Sabre distances itself as American Airlines weathers storm of systems outage

Wednesday 17 April 2013:

Sabre agrees distribution deal with Seaborne Airlines. The multi-year deal puts the carrier's fares, schedules and inventory on to systems of agents connected to the Sabre Travel Network. It is the first time the US Virgin Islands-based carrier, which flies to a number of destinations in the Caribbean, has appeared on the Sabre GDS.
Amadeus secures search technology partnership with CheapAir. The online travel agency will enlist the help of the Amadeus Extreme Search platform to help power its Deal Finder feature.
Travelport completes refinancing plan. The company says it has achieved the stated goals of extending its 2014 debt maturities, eliminating debt at Travelport Holdings and to simplify its capital structure.
The hidden costs of travel payments
Amadeus study reveals Asia as biggest market for air travel
Google chimes in on airline distribution changes, criticises closed shop and speed issues
Applying some Googlezon magic dust to airline retailing

Monday 15 April 2013:

Travelport lures Quickbeds to Rooms & More platform. The Flight Centre division will add 4,200 Australia-based properties to R&M, the agent desktop system which launched in early-2011 and now carries hotel content from 21 different global suppliers.
Tnooz-eNett-MasterCard FREE Webinar: How travel payments are transforming

Friday 12 April 2013:

Travelport unveils Mobile Agent in Australia and New Zealand. Developed by Travel Technology & Solutions in Portugal via the Travelport Developer Network, Mobile Agent allows Apollo and Galileo-connected agents in the region to access, create and manage travel bookings on behalf of customer on both Apple and Android devices.
THack Sydney – Winners cover off mobile assistance and event travel planning

Thursday 11 April 2013:

Travelport unveils TripGate for agents in Poland. Created by local technology company TravelTech, travel agents will have use of a corporate booking tool as well as make use of existing local and global content from the wider Travelport network.
Amadeus renews IT agreement with Munro's Travel. The deal sees the Scotland-based trael management company enlist the help of a number of agency services including Front End selling application and Amadeus Web Services.
Travelport brings airline merchandising platform to distribution table

Wednesday 10 April 2013:

Sabre and Vision 2000 extend IT agreement. The Canada-based corporate travel agency will use the Sabre Red Workspace across its network of agents currently handling over 640 corporate travel clients.
European hotel prices – February to April 2013

Tuesday 9 April 2013:

Travelport establishes new presence in Kenya. Headed by new general manager Rajab Itambo, Travelport is replacing its previous country agreement with Kenya Airways (as a local distributor of GDS services) with a team of its own and strategy to provide direct services to agencies in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania. Travelport has entered ten markets in Africa over the course of the past 12 months, alongside acquiring Gailieo South Africa in 2012.
Amadeus acquires Hitit Loyalty
Hotel prices in Asia – January to March 2013
IATA strikes back at Business Travel Coalition over the NDC

Friday 5 April 2013:

GetThere and HRS sign hotel distribution sign. The Sabre-owned corporate travel management tool will include the 250,000 properties from the HRS portfolio into its system, allowing global business travel customers to secure and manage their bookings.
Branded fares: American Airlines and Frontier have kickstarted a revolution

Thursday 4 April 2013:

Amadeus and UNICEF ink deal for child support programme. The agreement will see a UNICEF donation button added to Amadeus-connected agency and airline partner websites so travellers can donate to the organisation through the booking process of a trip.
Travelport renews GDS distributor agreement with UT&T in Yemen. The organisation acts as a local operator for distribution of Galileo technology and services to agencies in the Middle Eastern country. Partner agencies will also have use of the Travelport Smartpoint system.
Business travel becomes budget conscious, social media makes a mark [INFOGRAPHIC]

Wednesday 3 April 2013:

Travelport lures OnTheBeach to world of GDS distribution. The UK online travel agency is signing its first GDS partnership to help boost the number of hotel and flight options for customers. OTB books almost 1,000,000 leisure travel passengers a year.
Abacus agrees partnership with Jeju Air. The exclusive deal with the Korean low cost carrier will give Abacus-connected agents access to the airline's schedules and fares. Jeju has routes within Korea and also to China, Japan and Thailand.
More white doves of peace as Orbitz and American Airlines settle dispute
Lufthansa picks Vayant to help with dynamic packaging distribution

Tuesday 2 April 2013:

Sabre signs IT agreement with NTT in Oman. The deal sees Sabre provide the agency (part of the Saud Bahwan Group) with technology tools such as low fare shopping, business intelligence and web booking engine. The agency will have access to the Sabre Red Workspace as part of the partnership.
Just in time: Amadeus signs agreements with British Airways and Iberia after eleventh hour talks

Monday 1 April 2013: