Madrid Tourist Board has added the OAG flights data base to its website. According to the flight data company, based in Dunstable (England) and now part of United Business Media plc, the Spanish capital is the first city in the world to offer this unique listing as part of its marketing efforts.
Visitors to the popular website will now not only be able to plan their holidays, or business trips, in terms of hotels and what to do, but also their travel arrangements.
Where to stay, where to go, gastronomy and local travel in all its forms has always been a feature of tourist organisation”s websites, but not flight arrangements ” that was left for the traveller to sort out.
”Airports all around the globe use the OAG flight information not only on their websites but also for the passenger display boards and computer terminals,” said managing director business development, Duncan Alexander.
”Madrid has clearly seen how these assist customers and realised there was something in it for them. We believe that cities around the world will follow Madrid in taking advantage of our comprehensive content and leading technology."
The website also includes the ability to search fares and make bookings on its flight look-up service, OAG Flights. In partner with SideStep, which claims to be the internet's leading travel search company, anyone planning travel to Madrid can integrate a fare search and then actually make a booking, including low cost airlines.
Director of business development, Europe, Tim Simmonds said: "SideStep's innovative real-time search technology further enhances OAG's current online experience for travellers and those who arrange travel.
”OAG Flights” customers now have the ability to compare fares from more than 200 leading travel sites via SideStep's search engine to find the web's best travel bargains, and then click through to make a booking directly with the relevant online agency, consolidator or airline."
OAG Flights is a subscription-based service and shows departure and arrival times, flight durations, airport and terminal information and related information about direct and connecting flights. Subscribers are also able to keep track of a flight's real time status to check whether it is on-time or delayed.