Travelport has inked a breakthrough deal with AirAsia, which will see Asia’s largest low cost carrier distribute all of its fares and ancillary services through the Travelport global distribution system (GDS) for the first time.
As part of the agreement AirAsia has also signed up for Travelport’s merchandising technology, including its aggregated shopping functionality. which will enable travel agents to shop, compare and book AirAsia and AirAsia X flights alongside those offered by traditional carriers in exactly the same booking workflow.
The agreement means that Travelport-connected agents worldwide will be able to search and book competitive fares and popular ancillaries such as checked-in bags, advanced seat selection and in-flight meals offered by all airlines under the AirAsia group
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia group CEO, said, “The Travelport Merchandising Platform offers us the flexibility to connect to the GDS channel and enables us to distribute our low fares to even more travelers as we continue to expand our offering.”
The low cost carrier currently services an extensive network covering 87 destinations in Asia, Abu Dhabi, Australia and New Zealand. During its 12 years of operations it has carried over 220 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 150.
Added Derek Sharp, Travelport’s managing director of global distribution sales and services, “We look forward to helping AirAsia extend their distribution channel whilst providing more in-demand, low cost air content to our 67,000 travel agency subscribers worldwide.”
• Photo above: L to R (from 3rd left): AirAsia Siegtraund Teh, group chief; Travelport Derek Sharp; AirAsia Tony Fernandes, Damian Hickey, Travelport VP of global distribution sales and services; Rayner Teo, AirAsia group head of sales & distribution
