Travelport chose the CAPA (Centre for Aviation – Airlines) in Transition 2013 conference to launch its new Travelport Merchandising Platform in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Powerscourt, Co Wicklow. The Travelport Ireland team, headed by Sinead Reilly, were there in force to assist with the launch. This new platform will enable travel agents to access and compare all products on a single screen. It will increase the productivity of agency staff members and provide a faster and better service to customers. It enables airlines to differentiate and distribute products and offers via the travel agency channel.
Travelport Merchandising Platform enables airlines to:
- Differentiate and distribute their full suite of products and services, including fares and ancillaries with complete consistency across all channels
- Distribute their content using whichever technology best suits their business model
- Achieve greater brand consistency by controlling how their product is presented across all channels
- Maximise return on investment by demonstrating differentiation from their competition and increased ancillary sales
- Deliver a compelling user experience in all channels, driving competitiveness, and enabling more profitable revenue
Travelport Merchandising Platform enables travel agents to:
- Access the full range of airline products, including ancillaries, in their familiar, consolidated and integrated workflow that assists them in making the best informed choice for their customers
- Offer a better, more complete service demonstrating their deep product expertise to customers
- Maintain high levels of productivity and reduce training times
Derek Sharp, Managing Director, Global Distribution and Sales, Travelport, said: “Travelport Merchandising Platform paves the way for significant change in the distribution landscape by enabling airlines to go to market with all of their products in the right place, at the right time, in every channel. It provides complete consistency in how an airline’s product portfolio is presented and sold across all channels.”
Travelport Merchandising Platform encompasses industry leading technologies that facilitate the acquisition of additional, richer content from airlines, whatever the source of that content, i.e. through APIs, through industry standard data filing protocols, such as ATPCO, or through a blend of both. The Travelport Merchandising Platform then enables the ability to display and promote this content across all points of travel choice.
Travelport Ancillary Services – Available now: Enables travel agents to sell airline ancillaries within their existing workflow so there is no need to navigate to airline.com to offer the full range of products for carriers that choose to do so.
Travelport Rich Content and Branding – Launching in late 2013: Currently in development with several partner airlines, the Rich Content and Branding component of the Travelport Merchandising Platform allows airlines to communicate the value of their products to and through the agency community. Travel agents have access to all of the information on an airline’s product within the booking flow improving efficiency, levels of service and the ability to make informed travel choices.
Derek Sharp added: “For those watching this space, Travelport Merchandising Platform is a ‘sea change’ in the travel industry and truly differentiates us from our competitors. We are the only GDS encouraging airlines to connect in any way they want, in order to deliver their full product portfolio with equal impact across all distribution channels. This underscores the fact that Travelport is ready, willing, able and already utilising new technologies to work with any and all airlines interested in partnering to enable travel agents and consumers to shop, compare and buy travel in whichever channel they choose.”
Travelport Merchandising Platform is the outcome of the company’s steady investment in industry-leading technology to allow airlines to differentiate their products via the travel agency channel while enabling travel agencies and consumers to fully understand and compare products and offers from those airlines.
