Travelport has announced that European low-cost carriers Jet2.com and Norwegian are the latest participants in the aggregated shopping component of its recently launched Travelport Merchandising Platform.
Travelport Aggregated Shopping, an industry first, consolidates within the same screen, shopping results from traditional carriers who connect through ATPCO with those from low-cost carriers and others who prefer to connect with Travelport via an API connection. The new technology negates the need to shop and compare across several screens and allows travel agents to book both types of carriers in the same booking flow. Simply put, Aggregated Shopping gives airlines the ability to distribute their content in the way they choose to, and for travel agents to be able to sell this through a consistent, efficient workflow.
Travelport Aggregated Shopping, which forms part of the Travelport Merchandising Platform, was unveiled last month with launch carrier easyJet who said they were impressed by the flexible approach Travelport was offering airlines.
With the two new European carriers added, further low-cost fares on nearly 540 routes and over 170 destinations can now be shopped, compared and booked by travel agents in the same efficient way:
- Jet2.com, a leading leisure low cost carrier operating 42 aircraft from eight UK airports, operates 178 routes to more than 50 destinations
- Norwegian, the second largest airline in Scandinavia and the third largest low-cost airline in Europe, operates 359 routes to 121 destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
“I am thrilled that both Jet2.com and Norwegian are now also fully integrated into Travelport Aggregated Shopping alongside easyJet,” said Sinead Reilly, Country Manager, Travelport Ireland. “It’s great news for Irish travel agents who want the ease of being able to review and book fares from these leading low-cost carriers in the same way that they can shop and book flights with traditional carriers.
“Since launching our new merchandising platform last month, we have been very encouraged by the strong interest it has attracted from the airline community, who recognise that Travelport is ready, willing and able to use new technologies to enable them to distribute the way they want to.”
Travelport Ancillary Services
The second solution offered by the Travelport Merchandising Platform – Travelport Ancillary Services – is also already live with a wide range of airlines, including Air France, Alitalia, Aegean, Air New Zealand and KLM. This component allows travel agents to sell airline ancillaries such as lounge passes, seats and bags, within their existing workflow rather than by booking on an airline website.
The final component offered by the merchandising platform – Travelport Rich Content and Branding – is scheduled for launch later in the year. Currrently in development with several partner airlines, this solution will allow airlines to market and retail their products more effectively by controlling how their product is visually presented and described to travel agents.
Travelport expects to make further announcements related to its merchandising platform over the coming months.
