Whenever a new tech product comes out, you always wonder whether it lives up to its promises.
I wrote several months ago about the rollout of Travelport's Agencia desktop for Canadian travel agencies. [This is not to be confused with Expedia Inc.'s corporate travel agency, Egencia.]
In a post I wrote earlier today, Graham Wareham, Air Canada's senior director of product distribution, says progress has been slow in the integration of agency bookings through Agencia with the Apollo GDS.
This is what Travis Christ, president, The Americas, Travelport GDS, has to say on the issue: "Travelport Agencia integrates neatly with the Apollo GDS, aggregating all Air Canada and GDS content into one display. [It] integrates the profile, and creates a PNR with all passenger and fare information.
But, Christ acknowledges there is more work to be done.
He says: "It will always be fair to ask, 'Where is this functionality?' The answer is that this is only Version 1.0, and more is on the way. We’re very pleased with customer response, usage is increasing by over 50% per month. Agencia is a solid tool and only getting better."
So, stay tuned for more.