Tag Archives: Sabre

AirJapan selects Radixx portfolio from Sabre to support its new business model; prepares to take first commercial flight in FY 2023

Sabre Corporation , a leading software and technology provider, announced a new agreement between Sabre company Radixx and All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) new airline brand, AirJapan. The carrier will use the full suite of Radixx products including the Radixx Res passenger services system (PSS) and mobile check-in capabilities to support its aim of meeting emerging trends for international travel with superior service at a competitive price.

While Air Japan Co., Ltd. currently operates flights on behalf of its parent company ANA HOLDINGS INC., under this venture AirJapan will be launched as an entirely new brand that will concentrate on value-based services on medium-haul international routes; aiming to provide a caring passenger experience with a newly-created service concept and will be positioned between the ANA full-service and Peach Aviation low-cost brands within the ANA group of airlines.

“It’s incredibly important to us that we have the right technology partner who not only understands the ever-evolving travel marketplace and specificities of the Japanese market, but who can enable us to ensure success as we prepare to launch AirJapan under the ANA Group umbrella,” said Hideki Mineguchi, President CEO, AirJapan. “The broad range of solutions we have selected from Radixx will support us in our strategy of focusing on medium-haul international routes while creating a new kind of air travel experience that is neither a full-service carrier nor low-cost carrier, combining the best of both worlds while being firmly rooted in Japanese culture and quality,” he added.

“We’re thrilled to enhance our relationship with ANA at this pivotal time for the AirJapan and for the Japanese travel industry by providing Radixx solutions that are built with robust security and system stability through our Google Cloud partnership,” said Chris Collins, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Radixx. “AirJapan has carefully chosen a wide spectrum of complementary Radixx solutions that will enable them to make intelligent, intuitive decisions to streamline operations, optimize the traveller experience and enhance revenue opportunities while benefiting from ongoing innovation through Sabre’s Google partnership. We look forward to seeing AirJapan aircraft take to the skies next year, supported by Radixx technology.”

Sabre accelerates NDC rollout with offers from Qatar Airways

Sabre Corporation has successfully integrated IATA New Distribution Capability (NDC) content from Qatar Airways (QR) to its global distribution system (GDS). After a pilot phase with agency customers in Australia and Sweden, the offers of Qatar’s flag carrier will now be rolled out successively to travel agencies across the globe starting on July 7, 2022.

Travel agencies will be able to shop, book, and manage NDC offers from Qatar Airways. Access to Qatar’s content will be available through Sabre Red 360, Sabre’s agency point-of-sale tool, as well as its NDC-enabled Offer and Order Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

“We’ve been actively engaged in Sabre’s Beyond NDC program for several years and we’re proud to be the first carrier based in EMEA to make our products and offers available to the global travel agency community through Sabre’s marketplace,” said Matt Raos, Senior Vice President Global Sales at Qatar Airways. “With NDC as a part of our strategy to evolve our offering and enhance ancillary sales, we believe effective distribution in the indirect channel will become more important in the future.”

With Qatar Airways’ extensive network of destinations, access to the carrier’s unique NDC content is expected to be relevant to travel buyers across the globe in the post-COVID-19 recovery period and beyond.

“As the corporate travel sector continues to recover, customers are looking for enhanced shopping experiences and improved content in their marketplace,” said John Bukowski, Vice President of Distribution, Content and Sourcing at American Express Global Business Travel. “Our objective is to ensure that our customers and travelers have access to the broadest content and an unrivaled travel experience. We are excited about collaborating with Qatar Airways and Sabre to continue to evolve our customers access to content while delivering the servicing and experience they expect from American Express GBT.”

“We’ve always said that NDC is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Kathy Morgan, vice president, Channel Delivery, Sabre Travel Solutions. “We believe that realizing the potential of NDC is a collaborative effort, and we are excited about the progress we are making with carriers like Qatar Airways. Alongside strategic efforts like Sabre Travel AI ™, as well as the launch of our Retail Intelligence suite of products, these NDC achievements expand and progress our opportunities to advance personalized retailing.”

Sabre terminates distribution agreement with Aeroflot complying with sanctions imposed on Russia

Sabre Corporation, a software and technology company has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, the largest government-majority owned carrier in Russia. Sabre is taking immediate steps to remove Aeroflot flight content from its global distribution system (GDS), a marketplace used by travel agencies, travel websites and corporations around the world to shop, book and service flight reservations.

“Sabre has been monitoring the evolving situation in Ukraine with increasing concern. From the beginning, our primary focus has been the safety of our team members in the impacted region, as well as doing our part to support the much-needed relief efforts,” said Sean Menke, CEO, Sabre. “We are taking a stand against this military conflict. We are complying, and will continue to comply, with sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition, today we announced that Sabre has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, removing its content from our GDS.”

The company will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and will evaluate whether additional actions would be appropriate, taking into account legal considerations and any counter measures that could be implemented in response.

To help support humanitarian programs in the region, Sabre, which has approximately 1,500 team members in Poland, has donated USD 1 million to the Polish Red Cross, a 100-year charity that does exemplary work in conflict zones and for supporting displaced people. The funds donated by Sabre will be used by the Polish Red Cross to purchase, among other materials, much-needed food, hygiene products and sleeping bags, and will support the provision of medical assistance to those seeking shelter in Poland.

Cleatrip signs multi-year agreement with Sabre

Cleartrip has signed a multi-year deal with Sabre Corporation. The expanded, long-term agreement sees Sabre become Cleartrip’s global distribution system (GDS) partner and is part of the OTA’s strategy to streamline its GDS relationships. Focusing on advanced technology to spur growth, Cleartrip will be able to create compelling booking experiences for customers and provide an enhanced level of expertise to help people travel again.

One key feature of Sabre’s technology will be its Bargain Finder Max API, which will help Cleartrip create customised booking experiences for travelers by tailoring search results for the most relevant fares based on a range of itinerary preferences.

“This is an important partnership for Cleartrip, and we are excited by the prospects of this collaboration,” said Amit Taneja, Chief Commercial Officer, Cleartrip. “Our mission at Cleartrip is to make travel simple for our customers by leveraging best-in-class products and technologies. This mission is even more relevant as the travel recovery plays out in our key regions. Sabre is well positioned to deliver us next-generation technology, and this will be an essential component in providing a superior customer experience as our key regions revive.”

Cleartrip has established itself across the Middle East’s highly competitive markets by focusing on meeting customer needs through a superior product experience.

“As travel agencies look to secure a competitive edge during this uncertain time, many are choosing a partner with the stability and resources to continue investing in advanced and new technology solutions,” said Sean McDonald, Vice President, Online Travel, Sabre. “The online sector is at the forefront of travel’s recovery, so there is a huge opportunity for Cleartrip to act fast and position itself for growth. Cleartrip’s decision to streamline its GDS strategy and focus on its partnership with Sabre will enable the OTA to tap into expected growth in demand both during the recovery and beyond.”

 

‘The global hotel industry is increasingly recognising the importance of technology’

‘The global hotel industry is increasingly recognising the importance of technology’

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With digital transformation emerging as a key catalyst for the revival of the hospitality and travel industry in the aftermath of Covid-19, Sabre Hospitality has been helping hoteliers to reduce costs with their industry leading platforms. Hospitality Biz spoke with Scott Wilson, President of Hospitality Solutions, Sabre to understand how technology can be a path to recovery for hotels in the aftermath of Covid.

What products from Sabre Hospitality will aid the growth of the hotel industry in India amid changing booking patterns?

At Sabre, we’re committed to building a new marketplace for personalised travel by enabling our partners to expand their offering, grow their business and deliver the highly personalised experience, that travellers want and expect. We do this through a host of powerful products and solutions.

Sabre’s SynXis platform enables hoteliers to deliver millions of personalised experiences that maximise revenue and enhance the guest experience. Providing a singular view of inventory, pricing and guest data, SynXis technology helps hotels capitalise on the retail evolution that began prior to COVID-19 and has now accelerated through the pandemic. This one intuitive, customisable platform is a powerful tool for hotels who want to streamline their processes while boosting revenue streams and improving the guest experience.

Our industry-leading SynXis Central Reservation platform provides an extensive suite of capabilities that enable hoteliers to retail, distribute and fulfill offers, all the while increasing engagement with their guests.

SynXis Booking Engine offers intelligent and data driven services that enable hotels to maintain a laser focus on customer segments in order to increase engagement and conversion. SynXis Intelligent Retailing is being developed to allow hoteliers to rapidly create new products, services, merchandise, and experiences and effectively retail them using artificial intelligence.

Channel Connect further simplifies and automates distribution, maximising exposure to local, regional and global markets.

SynXis Voice Agent offers advanced tools to deliver a personalised experience through guest recognition, facilitating the creation of tailored packages and providing further opportunities for increased revenue per transaction.

 

In terms of lowering operational costs, how are your solutions designed to bring benefits to owners and operators?

Our solutions allow hoteliers to eliminate the fixed costs associated with in-house technology and utilise a transactional pricing model that adjusts based upon demand. By leaving the technology work to us, clients can spend more time focusing on guests and less time worrying about the backend systems.

Do you think that technology can be a path to recovery for hotels in the aftermath of Covid? If yes, how?

Very much so, yes. At Sabre, we haven’t hit the pause button during the pandemic – in fact, quite the opposite. Just as we are accelerating our own technology transformation during this time, the same holds true for our forward-thinking hotel partners who seek solutions that allow them to emerge from the pandemic with a competitive advantage.

As challenging as the pandemic has been, any crisis is a catalyst for change. Hoteliers are rethinking who their guests could be and the kinds of experiences they want to deliver, and this is where leveraging end-to-end technology can help fulfill customer expectations of today… and tomorrow.

Bottom line, the right technology enables hotels to find new revenue streams, distribute offers to new geographic markets and customer segments, and drive higher levels of guest satisfaction.

What are the recovery trends you are seeing in the hospitality marketplace globally? Do you think hoteliers can take advantage of these trends to gear up for recovery?

We’re seeing that hospitality is continuing to recover faster than other segments of the travel industry, and that’s understandable considering that most international air travel is still restricted globally.

Last summer in the U.S., for example, hotel bookings were the first to recover. We believe this demonstrates that although some travellers may not be ready yet to board a flight, they are willing to stay local or drive to their destinations. Now, with COVID-19 vaccinations rolling out worldwide, we expect further increases in traveller confidence.

Right now, hoteliers must use data and technology to truly understand what their guests want. The world has become more local as a result of travel restrictions, and hoteliers need to concentrate on what guests desire now: a hotel that may be just down the street, yet provides a total escape from reality. By utilising technology to better understand these emerging guest needs, hotels can boost revenue streams by attracting new guest segments and making the most of every booking.

According to you, what are the ancillary revenue streams that hoteliers should explore to tide over the crisis?

Truth be told, hoteliers were already exploring ancillary revenue streams beyond the room pre-COVID-19 – the pandemic merely accelerated the adoption of this practice.

An intelligent retailing approach uses data and analysis to understand a guest’s previous wants and needs, or those of a similar type of guest, and then to return an offer tailored to their requirements, that is not necessarily tied to a room booking. This enables the hotel to move to a more holistic eCommerce model of inventory that can sell living spaces, workspaces, services and experiences, as well as the typical amenities that hotels typically offer.

Do you think that the Indian hotel industry has matured after the pandemic to adopt emerging technologies?

The global hotel industry is increasingly recognising the importance of technology to drive change and innovation for recovery and future growth. In India, for example, we are working with OYO Hotels & Homes, who are now connected to hundreds of thousands of travel agents worldwide through the GDS powered by SynXis, enabling them to exponentially grow their geographic reach.