This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel Distribution in tourism and hospitality for March 2015.
Friday 27 March 2015:
Ellinair signs debut distribution deal with Travelport
- The Greek carrier, which is part of a wider group containing the Mouzenidis tour operator, will share its fares, schedules and availability to Travelport-connected agents worldwide. The Thessaloniki-based airline will also join the Travelport Rich Content and Branding platform so it can display products and services to agents on their existing desktop interfaces in the same it does online.
Wednesday 25 March 2015:Travelport reaches 100 carriers with merchandising tech
- Travelport says it now has 100 carriers signed up to its Rich Content and Branding technology. The recently released technology, part of the global distribution giant's Travel Commerce Platform, enables airlines to more easily highlight their services to on and offline travel agents. Travelport has also sealed a long-term partnership with Poland-based business travel specialist First Travel. The GDS will deliver its inventory of traditional and low-cost fares airfares and hotels to First via the Smartpoint agency selling tool.
Sabre releases Marketplace Analytics
- Sabre is helping airlines drive revenue through data analytics technology. The Sabre Marketplace Analytics aims to help airlines use their own data around shopping habits to improve the traveller experience and personalise offers.
Thursday 19 March 2015:Datalex picks up West Air
- The China-based carrier will use the Datalex Commerce platform in a bid to boost its digital shopping credentials. West Air is the second airline in China to sign up to Datalex following the Ireland-based company's recent decision to open an office Beijing.
Amadeus upgrades agent ticketing services
- The enhancements to the Ticket Changer platform include the launch of a refunding system for agents. The tool allows agents to automatically calculate refunds and reissue fares.Amadeus estimates some 5-10% of all airline tickets are refunded before a flight.
Travelport captures
LOT Polish Airlines for Rich Content and Branding
- The carrier will use the platform to push its products and content to Travelport-connected travel agents in a web-type format. LOT will also make a number of its ancillary services available through the Smartpoint desktop service including pre-paid luggage and upgrade meals.
Tuesday 17 March 2015:Travelport signs up Biman Bangladesh Airlines
- The national carrier for Bangladesh has expanded its existing agreement with Travelport so that global agencies are now able to connect to the carrier's schedules and fares. Paid seating and extra baggage ancillary options are included in the new partnership. Biman flies to 16 countries including services to the Middle East and Europe.
Monday 16 March 2015:JetAsia Airways agrees Travelport deal
- The Thailand-based carrier has signed a global distribution agreement as part of a move to add scheduled services to its original charter services. Use of Travelport's Rich Content and Branding tools, part of the Travelport Merchandising Platform, will also be included in the deal.
Friday 13 March 2015:Travelport renews Accor agreement
- The new distribution deal will see Accor's availability and room rates made available to all Travelport-connected agencies around the world. Rich content from the hotel chain will also be included on Travelport's Hotel Content Plus platform and bookings can be made with single-use credit cards and pre-pay reservations.
Tuesday 3 March 2015
Loco2 has added Trenitalia train tickets to its system
- The UK-based train travel search-and-booking engine now can book rail journeys to and around Italy, including Trenitalia and rival service Italo. It's been a rapid expansion of inventory for the startup which now has broad coverage of French, German, and Spanish trains, as well as Eurostar.
Busy Rooms releases revenue optimisation module
- The new feature is integrated into the Busy Rooms central reservation system, allowing property managers and revenue managers to manage and review all information about content, competitors, rooms, prices and availability in one tool. The tool draws on information from past bookings, local competitor rates and guest review scores the tool’s algorithm calculates where rates.
Travel Tripper, maker of a CRS, certifies
AutoClerk's PMS
- The hotel reservation IT provider now lets hotels can manage availability, rates and inventory for the RezTrip central reservation system through the AutoClerk property management system interface.
Abacus signs up
Jet Airways- Abacus' new distribution partnership with Jet Airways brings the Indian airline's interline and codeshare inventory to Abacus-enabled travel agents in Asia-Pacific. Jet has 18 codeshare agreements and over 100 interline partners while Abacus is used at more than 20,000 travel agent locations across the region.
Travelport unleashes airport express services
- Heathrow Express is the first to sign up to a service from Travelport enabling agents to offer rail links to airports. The service, which is via a plugin on Travelport's Travel Commerce Platform, has been developed by Developer Connections.
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NB2: Travel image via Shutterstock.