Travelport has launched a new platform for selling flights which will allow TMCs to shop for airline fares and ancillaries on a single screen.
The technology firm today (April 11) unveiled its Travelport Merchandising Platform which is designed to make it easier for agents to compare flight prices and the full range of ancillaries offered by the carriers.
The system shows results from airlines using the traditional GDS and also from no-frills carriers, such as Easyjet, which supply fares through direct API links from their websites.
It will also allow travel agents to select which add-on services their customers require and directly compare the prices across airlines to see the full cost of the flight.
Easyjet has already started using Travelport’s Aggregated Shopping feature of the new platform, which allows agents access to all of the airline’s fares and ancillaries, including some products which were previously only available on the Easyjet website.
Cath Lynn, Easyjet’s customer and revenue director, said the airline wanted to use the system to make it easier for TMCs and corporates to book their flights.
“For a big chunk of the managed business travel sector we were not making it easy to book and travel with Easyjet,” said Lynn.
“We are now being displayed on one screen with Lufthansa or Air France which is really going to help us. It’s a massive move forward. It puts control back into the hands of the customers – it’s a great lever for TMCs to deliver value and choice, and understand what the customers want.”
The system is designed to show everything on one screen to make it easier and quicker for agents to compare fares and ancillaries across carriers without having to do any additional research on individual airline websites.
Derek Sharp, Travelport’s managing director for global distribution and sales, 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.”