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Travelport poised to unveil fee-free sales channel
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
Travelport has revealed plans to launch technology allowing agents to bypass GDS surcharges on airline bookings this autumn.
The move comes as British
Airways and Air France-KLM reported distribution costs have risen since they imposed GDS fees. BA added an £8 GDS fee to bookings last November and Air France-KLM an €11 fee from April 1 – following Lufthansa, which imposed fees in 2015. The carriers have all since
moved away from offering agents full content via GDSs, making an increasing proportion of fares available only via APIs (application programme interfaces) or online portals in line with Iata’s New Distribution Capability (NDC). However, Travelport chief
Gordon Wilson confirmed the GDS is poised to offer agents a fee-free booking channel from this autumn, saying: “We’re on course
Gordon Wilson: ‘We’re on course to deliver in the second half of the year’
to deliver the first wave of NDC API-sourced content in the second half of this year.” He said: “This will enable
customers on an API or Travelport Smartpoint to distribute on a desktop without the GDS surcharge. Our intention is to make it available wherever airlines want it available.” Yet Wilson does not foresee the
move ending the impasse between the airlines and GDSs. He said: “The technology is there, [but] it will take time to shake out, as there are some entrenched positions, particularly among the airlines.” BA reported an 8% increase in
“selling costs” in the half year to June, and a 12% rise “excluding currency costs”, saying: “The rise reflects the new business model introduced in November 2017.” Air France-KLM also revealed
rising distribution costs, reporting a 17% increase between April and June this year “due to the roll-out of the NDC system”. Lufthansa made no reference to distribution costs in its half-year results last week.
Harry Kemble
harry.kemble@
travelweekly.co.uk
Jet2holidays says its partner- ship with hit TV show Love Island has attracted younger customers to the brand.
The show’s travel partner ran a competition for viewers during the ad break to win a holiday to Majorca using the strapline “Love the summer vibe with Jet2holidays and Love Island” on TV and online. A Jet2holidays spokesman said: “Our Love Island association was an incredibly successful way of introducing Jet2holidays to a younger audience and we have seen an increase in both enquiries and bookings specifically from that demographic.
“The competition we ran for
viewers of the show to win a holiday to Majorca completely exceeded expectations.” Sales for holidays to Majorca,
home of ITV’s Love Island villa, rose by 255% year on year in the 24 hours after the first episode was broadcast. Bookings during its eight-week run were up 45% when it was on air and 17% at other times, according to
3 STORIES HOT Love Island helped
Jet2holidays attract a younger audience
Love Island gives Jet2 youth appeal
marketing network
Awin.com. Love Holidays said year-on-year bookings to Croatia had more than doubled in the build-up to
the release of blockbuster movie Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,
after running a themed campaign including a holiday giveaway at London Victoria station. Marketing intelligence agency
Mintel hailed the ‘Mamma Mia! effect’ after research found 55% of holidaymakers were inspired to visit a destination they had seen on a TV show or film. Marketing expert Steve Dunne of Digital Drums said: “Savvy travel companies and destina- tions know it’s a no-brainer to be associated with a popular, or niche, programme.” But he said companies of all
sizes should piggyback on popular culture. “If you have got a small budget then the one thing that you have to do is read a trend. It’s all about getting into the mindset of the consumer.” Dunne added: “Really good
marketing managers realise that there are products that match their audience. Most brands will not work in a silo anymore – they will create a halo effect.”
9 August 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 5
PICTURE: JAMES GOURLEY/ITV/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
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