Southwest Airlines and Amadeus have today announced that the
carrier’s complete offer for business travel is now available through the distribution company's agent platform, initially for those TMCs that have points of sale in the US and have the ability to settle via ARC.
The companies say this will allow corporate travel buyers, travel
management companies, and business travel decision makers to book and service
reservations through Amadeus Travel Platform more easily.
TMCs and corporate travel consultants will be able to search, book and service (including exchange and refund) Southwest content. This includes access to the airline’s Business Select, Anytime and Wanna Get Away fares with full access to dynamic Southwest flight schedules.
Consultants will have instant access to
all changes in a customer's journey, including changes made by the airline,
such as scheduled and voluntary changes and airport disruptions and access to
real-time, accurate flight information, including arrivals, delays and
diversions. Corporate travellers will be automatically re-booked
with instant special service requests.
Southwest has been partnering with Amadeus since 2015 on passenger services technology and the announcement will now mean that bookings are managed through a single passenger name record (PNR).
Andrew Watterson, executive vice president and chief commercial
officer, Southwest Airlines, said: “By joining with Amadeus, we’re continuing
our mission of removing friction for corporate travel managers and travel
management companies to make it easier and hassle-free to book and manage
travel on Southwest Airlines.”
Decius Valmorbida, president, travel unit, Amadeus, said: “We
are delighted to expand our relationship with Southwest Airlines and support
the growth of Southwest Business, especially as business travellers return to
the skies.”
The carrier announced its new GDS-friendly distribution strategy
in August last year
and made content available through Travelport’s Apollo and Worldspan in May
and in Galileo in July.
The airline said over the summer that it has ended two years of “fruitless”
talks over full content distribution with Sabre.