Following the successful implementation of its New Distribution Capability (NDC) roadmap during 2018, Travelport has completed the onboarding of the first group of travel agencies to receive access to NDC content. In October 2018, UK-based travel agency Meon Valley completed the first live booking using NDC content through Travelport’s Smartpoint desktop. The next phase of Travelport’s NDC roadmap involved onboarding a larger group of travel agencies. To ensure NDC works for all parts of the travel ecosystem, Travelport has implemented its booking solution with a wide variety of agencies of different sizes, including American Express Global Business Travel, dnata, Gray Dawes Group, Global Travel Management, Meon Valley Travel, Premier Holidays, TAG, Travel Counsellors and Travel & Transport Statesman. Commenting on this milestone in Travelport’s NDC delivery, Nick Dagg, SVP Global Agency Sales said, “We work at the heart of the travel industry and our agency customers rely on us to provide them with choice through access to the broadest range of travel content. NDC is no exception and we’ve taken great care in managing the roll-out of our NDC booking capability through Smartpoint to our agency customers. This has allowed us to learn as we go, listen to the important feedback from our customers as they operate in this new distribution era and refine our NDC solution to ensure it provides seamless, integrated travel choice.” John Bukowski, Director, Content and Distribution, American Express Global Business Travel said, “We are working with key parties to ensure we continue to deliver access to all content, with a focus on improving traveller experience, controlling cost, maintaining full end to end servicing, as well as transparent fares, pricing and comparison shopping. NDC is an …
Read More »Jet Airways to launch Pune-Singapore direct daily from December 1
Jet Airways is set to commence daily non-stop services from Pune to Singapore starting December 1, 2018. The new service will make Jet Airways the first airline to connect Pune directly with Singapore. The flight from Pune to Singapore, 9W 22 will depart Pune at 05:10 hrs (IST) and arrive in Singapore at 13:15 hrs (LT). On the return leg, flight 9W 21 will depart from Singapore at 21:00 hrs (LT) and arrive in Pune at 00:05 hrs (IST). To celebrate the launch of the new flight, Jet Airways has announced special ‘introductory’ return Economy fares from Pune, starting at Rs 23,999 only, as also a Premiere fare of INR 66,999. Guests can book tickets and enjoy attractive savings with these special fares, with the sale from October 24-31, 2018. These inaugural fares are applicable for journeys commencing from December 1, 2018 onwards. Raj Sivakumar, Senior Vice President–Worldwide Sales & Distribution, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways will be the first Indian airline to provide direct connectivity between Pune and Singapore. Singapore has seen over 36,000 visitor arrivals from Pune in 2017, which is the highest for an Indian city without a direct flight. The launch of this new non-stop, daily service will benefit both leisure and business travellers, as Singapore is one of the most popular destinations for tourists from Pune.” The new frequency will offer guests from Pune convenient connections to Auckland, Bangkok, Brisbane, Jakarta, Denpasar-Bali, Hanoi, Phuket, Jinjiang, Medan, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Manila, Nadi, Penang, Perth, Phnom Penh, Shanghai, Yangon, Ho Chi Minh City, Surabaya and Sydney through two-way flights operated by codeshare partners, via Singapore.
Read More »Jet to introduce nine industry-first domestic routes in September
Continuing its focus on growing its domestic presence, Jet Airways is set to introduce 28 new flights in the coming month. Jet Airways’ new services – including industry firsts as well as a mix of non-stop and one-stop flights – will strengthen the airline’s footprint, enabling it to meet the rising demand for domestic and international air travel in emerging cities. The new services will also help connect guests with other cities including metros as well as the airline’s global network via its hubs in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. In a series of industry-firsts, Jet Airways will introduce daily flights from Indore, connecting the ‘largest city in Madhya Pradesh’ to Jodhpur as well as to Vadodara. In other notable firsts, Jet Airways is also set to commence flight operations between Chandigarh and Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Jodhpur as well as Vadodara and Jaipur. Jet Airways will be the only airline in the country operating these routes which will improve connectivity between north India and central as well as western India. Raj Sivakumar, Senior Vice President – Worldwide Sales & Distribution, Jet Airways, said, “As air travel gains prominence in emerging cities across India such as Indore, Jodhpur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Vadodara, there is an increasing need to introduce connectivity solution for these cities. New flights, additional frequencies, greater capacity across more sectors are meant to offer our discerning guests additional choice, convenience, connectivity and superior comfort.”
Read More »Travelport and Air France-KLM sign agreement
Travelport and Air France-KLM have signed an agreement for the distribution of content through Travelport’s platform. Air France-KLM and HOP! content on Travelport’s platform will include Travelport’s rich content, branded fares, fare families and multiple ancillaries. Travelport customers will continue to benefit from Travelport’s tools beyond booking capability that enable workflow automation, change management processes, multiple content integration, robotics for fulfilment and other vital services. This agreement also enables customers selected by Air France HOP! and KLM to access a private channel via Travelport through which they will receive content without the additional distribution surcharge levied by Air France-KLM starting April 1, 2018. Derek Sharp, Senior Vice President and Managing Director – Air Commerce, Travelport, says, “This agreement is an extension of a long-term relationship which has delivered greater choice to Air France KLM’s customers. We look forward to a continuing productive partnership as we deploy new technology with the airline.” Emmanuelle Gailland, Vice President – Distribution, Air France-KLM, says, “Travelport has been a great partner throughout our private channel engagement as a transition towards NDC. Both Air France KLM and Travelport will work together to bring NDC content of new fares, products, services and rich media in the marketplace.”
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