Travelport and Emirates announced that they have reached a new commercial agreement that will allow Travelport-connected travel agencies to avoid the airline’s surcharge on bookings via Global Distribution Systems (GDS) that was introduced on July 1, 2021. Furthermore, the companies announced a new long-term agreement to enable the distribution of Emirates NDC content via Travelport’s next-generation platform, Travelport+, and an extension to its longstanding IT agreement.
The announcement comes close on heels after Emirates surcharge went into effect and also on the first day that Emirates tickets and ancillary products are no longer available in the Sabre GDS.
Subscribers on the Travelport GDS will have been automatically upgraded to a dedicated sales channel that provides access to Emirates content surcharge-free. These agencies will also continue to benefit from a rich experience when searching for and booking NDC-supported tickets, fare bundles, access to its ancillary offers, thanks to a long-term extension of the airline’s existing agreement to use Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding merchandising tool.
The Travelport-connected agencies will gain access to Emirates’ NDC content and services via Travelport Smartpoint and the company’s enhanced RESTful / JSON APIs once the agencies sign new NDC specific agreements with both companies. Travelport and Emirates continue to progress the NDC technical solution for travel retailers worldwide and are now in the process of developing more enhanced features and functionality that will be gradually rolled out.
Travelport will also continue to provide Emirates with its industry-leading pricing, shopping and ticket rebooking technology as part of the agreement, to support the airline in the delivery of advanced shopping and rebooking options within its own internal sales channels, including its NDC channel and www.emirates.com.
Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Partners at Travelport, said: “This series of agreements highlights the determination of both Travelport and Emirates to re-invent travel retailing and push the boundaries of what’s possible. With a shared vision for the future, our long-standing collaboration will continue to go from strength-to-strength. Together, we look forward to giving the many travelers returning to the skies this summer and beyond the best possible offers and experiences.”
