Travelport has no intention of delaying the start date for implementation of Agility, a programme to introduce new desktop features and connection charges to agents.
First announced earlier this month, Agility is a wide-ranging scheme to put software and functionality for Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo-connected agents onto a single platform, including the global roll-out of Smartpoint, a system it hopes will improve the user experience of the existing, traditional green screens by incorporating a modern look and feel.
Agents will have to install the new desktop system from January 1 2012. Worldspan agents will have use of the Go Translater App rather than Smartpoint.
Inevitably, it is the introduction of agent fees as part of the Agility programme which has triggered a number of concerns, as well as the time-scale (30 days) for customers to comply.
The Association of Retail Travel Agents was the first organisation to voice its anger publicly, acknowledging that some new features had been added to the Agility suite but other, previously free-to-use services, had been withdrawn (included in the new paid-for platform).
ARTA was joined by the larger American Society of Travel Agents last week, claiming its Travelport-connected members "believe they have contracted right to features", which are apparently fee-waived in their existing agreements.
Interestingly, no other agent groups outside of North America (ARTA in Canada also made an official complaint) have publicly opposed the move to Agility.
Well-known travel industry attorney, Mark Pestronk, based in Washington DC, waded into the row yesterday, outlining a number of areas where he thinks Travelport may have breached contracts with some agents, specifically around the waived features and the introduction of charges for previously free services.
Nevertheless, Travelport has spent the past three weeks liaising with agents ahead of the 1 January deadline and believes feedback from early users is very positive.
It claims over 800 agency locations for Galileo and Apollo had downloaded the applications in the first few days of it being made available in early-December.
While not referring specifically to either the ASTA or ARTA complaints, Travelport says it will not be delaying the introduction of Agility.
In addition, when asked about whether the introduction of Agility had breached any existing terms and conditions, Travelport says it will not comment on any of commercial terms it has in contracts with customers.
Travelport senior vice president for global commercial operations, Bryan Conway, admits some customers may not welcome "changes in the marketplace" but eventually "people will respect value and also recognise that we are providing value" through the new suite of services.
Conway also defends the 30-day lead-in time, claiming Travelport would have been forced to defer the planned launch of Smartpoint if it had given any extra time.
"I'm not sure what the argument for a delay is," he says.
Travelport has also given some indication for the first time of the planned roll-out for Universal Desktop, the modular and Windows-style platform for which Smartpoint is considered an important stepping stone.
Conway says beta testing for Universal Desktop, currentlytaking placein each of its key markets, will come to a close in the next few months.
UDK will then be made available in 12 countries over the course of Q2 2012, Conways reveals, with a mass deployment planned across all markets and systems by 2013.