AirBorneo picks Sabre to power its 2026 takeoff
Newly launched, Sarawak state-owned carrier AirBorneo has signed a long-term agreement with Sabre to support its network planning, pricing, and revenue strategy from day one. The airline will deploy Sabre’s network planning, revenue optimization, and market intelligence tools to manage routes, optimize fares, and make data-driven decisions as it builds regional connectivity and scales operations. Created from the rebranding of MASwings, AirBorneo plans to serve key regional markets including Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea, with Sabre’s technology forming the foundation for sustainable growth and a seamless passenger experience.
Agoda and Mastercard bring real-time travel rewards to loyalty programs
Agoda and Mastercard have partnered to help banks modernize loyalty programs by offering flexible, travel-based rewards across Asia Pacific. Agoda’s global inventory of flights and accommodations is now integrated into Mastercard’s Global Redemption Suite, allowing banks to embed instant, Agoda-powered travel redemptions directly into their own loyalty platforms. Cardholders can redeem points in real time, creating a smoother, digital-first experience with more choice and flexibility.
The collaboration reflects a broader shift toward personalized, experience-led loyalty, as travelers increasingly value rewards that are easy to use and immediately relevant. By combining Mastercard’s rewards ecosystem with Agoda’s travel inventory, banks can boost engagement through higher redemption rates and more active card usage, while giving customers meaningful travel benefits that fit modern lifestyles.
Primer and HitPay team up to speed global expansion for SEA merchants
Primer and HitPay have formed a new partnership to help Southeast Asian merchants expand internationally faster, as cross-border e-commerce in the region is set to top US$76 billion by 2030. Through Primer’s unified payments infrastructure, Singapore-based HitPay can access local acquirers in key markets such as the US and Europe, improving multi-currency card acceptance and payment performance for its merchant base across Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
HitPay is a full-stack payments platform serving more than 15,000 businesses across e-commerce, retail, and F&B, offering card payments, bank transfers, QR codes, and over 700 digital wallets across APAC. Primer, which operates in more than 30 countries, provides unified global payments infrastructure for merchants across sectors including ecommerce, travel, and fintech. The partnership also runs both ways, with HitPay joining Primer’s Partner Program to give Primer’s global merchants easier access to Southeast Asia’s fragmented payments landscape—connecting SEA merchants to the world, and global brands to Southeast Asia.
Sabre backs BizTrip AI to build smarter corporate travel assistants
Sabre has taken a minority stake in BizTrip AI and entered a partnership to develop AI-powered corporate travel assistants for business travel. The tools are designed to handle complex bookings, manage itineraries, and automate corporate travel policies for travel management companies, airlines, hotels, and corporate clients. The collaboration combines Sabre’s agentic APIs and model context protocol with BizTrip AI’s travel-focused large language model and agentic AI capabilities.
The move builds on Sabre’s recent push into AI, including the launch of agentic AI-ready APIs and a generative AI chat solution for airlines in late 2025. Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert has positioned agentic AI as a potential new distribution channel, while BizTrip AI brings a proprietary LLM that learns from booking behavior, policies, and traveler preferences. Together, the companies aim to deliver enterprise-scale AI that adds automation, personalization, and efficiency to corporate travel.
Ireckonu deepens luxury hotel push, eyes smarter growth
Ireckonu has expanded its global hotel portfolio, strengthening its position in the luxury segment with new clients including Aman and Dorchester Collection. The hospitality tech provider also deepened its partnership with Mandarin Oriental, supporting its enhanced guest recognition program to enable personalized experiences at scale. These wins have helped Ireckonu gain access to higher-value customers and cement its role as a strategic partner for hotel groups navigating complex data and operational environments.
The company is also scaling its global footprint, with growing focus on APAC and the US following consolidation in EMEA. In 2025, Ireckonu opened a regional office in Singapore and expanded its US teams, enabling 24/7 global support. Looking ahead to 2026, the company plans to roll out new AI-, automation-, and data-driven features aimed at boosting direct bookings, improving ROI, and delivering hyper-personalized guest experiences at scale.
